Chaos Theory
by Marly Kaxon
Summary: A tattered convoy of ponies arrives from beyond the Everfree Forest, seeking aid from Equestria. But while their leader, Crimson Lance, attempts to negotiate with Princess Celestia and Twilight, the remaining ponies start getting a little too attached to Ponyville.
1. The Map's Mysterious Mane Six Mission

_In which the Cutie Map sends out a call._

* * *

With one swift, expert kick, Applejack bucked open the door to Twilight's castle. Her glowing cutie mark was making impatient circles around her head as she barreled down the hall with Fluttershy flapping nervously at her heels.

"Yee-haw!" she panted loudly. " _Finally_ the map's callin' _someone_ again!"

"I know," Fluttershy breathlessly agreed, "I was beginning to wonder if we'd ever have another mission to go on. And," she whispered on, as both ponies slowed to a walk to converse, "I'm really excited to be called with you, Applejack. With the two of us, who _knows_ how many adorable animals we might meet!"

Applejack laughed. "Gee, I reckon so. Whatever it is, I just know it'll be something excitin'...whoa!"

Three butterflies and three apples went soaring down the hall and around the corner, with two ponies galloping after. They skidded into the throne room - and screeched to a halt.

"HI!" cheered Pinkie.

Wide-eyed, Applejack looked from one throne to the next, then said, in surprise that quickly became delight: "All of us?"

"It sure looks that way," said Twilight. Rarity cast a benevolent eye in her friends' direction, and Rainbow Dash was slumped in her chair, her eyes chasing her lightning bolt mark around the shimmering crystal map.

"Oh, dear! I guess this must be _awful_ important."

"I'm sure it is. Ooh, this is so exciting!" The princess kicked her hooves and took to the air. "I wonder where we're going. Manehattan? Las Pegasus? GRIFFONSTONE?"

"Uh," said Applejack tactfully, "we've been sent to all those places already." Dash nodded.

Annoyed, Twilight pawed at the table. "So what? No reason we can't be called there again...right?"

"Riiiiight. Oh, hey, look," Dash said quickly, "They're settling down!"

Indeed they were. Six shimmering cutie marks formed a dutiful line, then a ring - they swept past Appleoosa, glided over the Everfree Forest, and finally circled over one spot.

The ponies stared in confused astonishment.

"Ponyville?" asked Twilight, baffled.

"Ponyville!" shrieked Pinkie happily.

" _Ponyville?"_ groaned Rainbow Dash.

"Ponyville," announced Princess Celestia, alighting regally on the balcony of Twilight's castle.

The six ponies respectfully turned and listened expectantly to whatever the ruler of Equestria had to tell them.


	2. Governor Crimson Lance

_In which the ambassadors arrive from Pomphay._

* * *

"Princess Celestia!" Twilight cried. "What are you doing here? If I'd known you were coming, I'd've-"

"No need, Twilight. I'm here on official business. I've only come to pick you up - and, of course, tell you all what's going on," Celestia added, gazing at the nervous faces around the table.

Applejack waved her hoof courteously. "Please do!"

The six settled down into their thrones as the ruler of Equestria stepped regally about the room, to indicate how serious she was - or possibly just to help her think.

"Very soon, a group of emissaries will arrive in Ponyville from the village of Pomphay, which lies beyond the Everfree Forest. These ponies have not been in contact with the rest of Equestria for many moons now, and they are anxious to re-establish relations with its princesses - that's Luna, me, and you, Twilight."

Twilight looked terribly confused. "Me? But I've never been...a ruler...not like you, at least. What about Princess Cadance?"

"The ponies of Pomphay, I believe, are not ready yet to go beyond Ponyville and Canterlot. From what I've heard, they're barely keeping themselves together as it is."

"Pardon me, Princess," interrupted Applejack, respectfully, "but why haven't we heard about these ponies before?"

Celestia bowed her head. "I lost contact with Pomphay after a nearby volcano flooded the whole area with lava. Only now have they rebuilt enough to spare a group of ambassadors for these talks.

"Pomphay lies in the wake of the Everfree Forest's unnatural magic. The weather fights their pegasi, denying them the rain and sunshine they need for their crops. The earth is still recovering from the effects of Mount Ruin. Worse, the volcano has attracted a swarm of dragons looking to move in, which the ponies much constantly fend off. Despite all this, we believe the village is looking up. They will arrive from the Everfree Forest shortly, and Luna is on her way. We should be too, Twilight." The princess paced to Twilight's balcony and spread her magnificent wings to the forest.

"WAIT! Aren't we coming? Can't we come?" yelled Pinkie Pie, bouncing onto the map-covered table.

"Hey," Spike muttered, pointing at Pinkie's hoof, "you stepped on us."

The two princesses nodded brightly, and everyone with a pair of wings leapt off the balcony; those without them seemed to prefer the stairs and the front door.

As she trotted alongside her dearest friends, it occurred to Twilight Sparkle that this would be her first real role in a diplomatic mission. Had she been looking forward particularly to this day? ...No, not really. Twilight had been totally content as the Princess of Friendship, being sent all over the world to solve friendship problems. Even she had to admit that diplomacy seemed rather less fun.

But why had the Cutie Map sent all six of them to meet these ponies? This wasn't a friendship problem. This was another kind of problem entirely.

The kind of problem that keeps ponies from communicating with the ruler of their whole country for moons upon moons. Twilight wondered what sort of ponies she'd be encountering. Would they be burned from lava and dragonfire? Would they be cold, overworked, hungry? Yes, she thought, they'd probably be hungry, if the ground and weather were both refusing to cooperate. Hungry, and tired - and disheartened by a disaster and a long time with no outside contact or help.

"It's too bad," she remarked to Applejack, walking beside her, "that Pinkie Pie didn't have time to plan anything for the Pomphay ponies' arrival." If anyone needed a party right now, she thought, they did.

Celestia paused about a furlong from the mouth of the Everfree Forest as her sister Luna alighted at her side. They spoke to one another with simple nods of their heads, glances and blinks. Sometimes, after thousands of years living together, words seemed simply inefficient.

Walking quickly to take her place at Celestia's left flank, Twilight cleared her throat. "Princess Celestia?"

"Yes?"

"What do I...what do I do when we get there?"

The princess laughed gently. "You know all the formalities, Twilight. Beyond that? Just be yourself. That is what you do best."

The ponies raised their heads, and slowed their steps to a patient halt. A glowing crimson light was now visible from deep within the forest.

Twilight glanced back to her friends for support. Four ponies smiled back. Pinkie Pie seemed to have disappeared.

"Pinkie?" she called, concerned, searching the landscape.

"Go on, Twilight," whispered Celestia. "I think _you_ should greet them first. After all, Ponyville is your home."

A proud look came into the young alicorn's eyes, and she strode royally toward the three figures emerging from the shadows.

"Ambassadors of Pomphay!" she proclaimed.

"As the Princess of Friendship, and a local resident, may I be the first to say-"

"WELCOME TO PONYVILLE!" shouted a voice, and the ambassadors leapt backwards in alarm as about a hundred party cannons went off in unison.

Pinkie Pie had appeared from absolutely nowhere with a heap of presents and a towering seven-layer cake. "And WELCOME to your WELCOME TO PONYVILLE party! As you can see, we _really_ hope you feel welcome! In Ponyville!"

"Pinkie! How did you manage this?" demanded a startled Rainbow Dash. "We only heard about this, like-"

"A few minutes ago! Pfft, that's _plenty_ of time. C'mon, guys, let's mingle! Nice to meet you all! _Most of the presents are balloons,"_ she gleefully whispered to the unicorn at the head of the pack. "I wasn't sure what to get you, since I've never met you or even heard of you before. But I can't _wait_ to get to know you!"

"Er...likewise," said the unicorn.

Now that the confetti had begun to clear, the Ponyville ponies got their first real look at the newcomers.

Their leader - she certainly _looked_ like a leader, she _stood_ like a leader, and she reacted to Pinkie's surprise party like the displeased and uncomfortable leader of an impressionable pack - was a tall, powerful-looking pony with narrow eyes and sharply curved features. Her body was alabaster pink and sheathed in silver armor. A neat, sharp crimson mane and tail gave her a strong military air, along with the magnificent red-and-white sword emblazoned on her flank. She pawed the ground with a steely hoof.

"Governor," said Princess Celestia, striding openly forward with her wings displayed. Luna and Twilight mirrored her.

The tall unicorn bowed respectfully. "Your Highness...we are most grateful."

She straightened, and looked grandly over three promised princesses and five extra ponies all craning their necks to see over one another. Something that wasn't really a smile but was probably her best attempt at one played over her face. "Good day to you," the governor said in a loud voice. "I am Governor Crimson Lance, commander of the Army of Pomphay...and your humble guest," she added.

"Pleased to meet you," Twilight said quickly.

Governor Crimson Lance, commander of the Army of Pomphay, took a few tense steps forward, looking as though she wanted to get as far away from the Everfree Forest as quickly as possible. A dutiful pegasus, done up in all shades of quiet blue, hovered at her shoulder, shaking streamers from her wings and tightly braided mane.

Pinkie was nosing around in a cluster of balloons, when suddenly her nose met another pony's nose and she smiled at the earth pony grinning back at her.

"Hello, You!"

"Hi!" the other pony whispered excitedly. She glanced side-to-side with her wide lime-green eyes. "What _are_ these? They're so _colorful!_ I love them," she breathed.

Pinkie giggled. "They're balloons, silly. I mean, come on, haven't you ever seen balloons before?"

The stranger shook her head. "We don't have anything colorful at home - except ourselves," she blushed, blinking at her hooves. Pinkie looked her up and down. She was a deep fuchsia color all over, wearing a faded tan vest; her shamrock mane and tail had been chopped very short. She kept glancing back nervously at Crimson Lance, looking as if she were breaking a rule, but her curiosity was too much for her. "My name's Berry Buzz. What's yours?"

"I'm Pinkie Pie!" Pinkie Pie announced, bouncing in place. She stopped short when she noticed Berry Buzz gazing intently at the mark on her flank.

"More balloons? Did you paint those on?"

Pinkie's pink nose wrinkled in confusion. "What? No! Party planning is my special talent, that's all. And my super-duper favoritest thing to do!" she beamed. "Say, what's _your_ special talent?"

"My…what?"

Twilight, Luna, and Celestia had meanwhile been introduced to the prim-looking pegasus and made the beginnings of an acquaintance with Crimson Lance. Now the governor seemed more anxious than ever to get into town, and she lifted her head so that her voice would sound more important. "Berry Buzz, come along. We're moving now."

"But, Governor!"

"Now, please," Crimson Lance intoned.

Berry Buzz's ears dropped and she gave Pinkie a sorry look. "I'm busy. Making friends, like we're _supposed to_."

"Petrichor, please ask Berry Buzz to join us."

The pegasus gave a salute, landed beside the earth pony, and began propelling her away from Pinkie and the forest with her head.

Twilight let her friends lead the ambassadors ahead to her castle, but as she walked behind she suddenly found Applejack at her shoulder. She pawed at the path awkwardly. "Um, Twi? I don't suppose you noticed anything… _odd_ about that earth pony - and that pegasus?"

Twilight looked after them. At first she didn't see anything; then she realized that _that_ was exactly the issue.

Berry Buzz didn't have a cutie mark. Neither did Petrichor, the pegasus. For that matter, neither did the small, shy-looking unicorn with the unkempt blue mane who had been hidden behind Crimson Lance the entire time.


	3. A Trifold System

_In which the ways of the Pomphayians are explained._

* * *

As the ambassadors, flanked on all sides by princesses and friends alike, approached Twilight's glimmering castle, Spike was standing just inside the massive front door practicing looking important. This would be his first experience as a sort of sub-host to foreign leaders, and he intended to make a good impression. "I'll stand here, and when they get to the doorstep," he announced to no one in particular, "I'll swing open the doors and say something majestic, like, 'Come in!' Don't you think that'll be awful impressive?" He ran a clawed hand over the spikes on his head. Receiving no answer, he glared upwards.

Owlicious was perched atop the door. In the time it took for Twilight to pick up Crimson Lance and her associates, he'd preened his feathers thoroughly and struggled into the bedazzled bow Rarity had made for him.

"Uh, _hello?"_ prompted Spike. "Don't you think that'll impress them?"

"Who?" said Owlicious.

"Don't try that with _me_ ," the little dragon sniffed. "You just say that to everything! I caught on a long time ago, you know. I was just humoring you."

"Who," retorted the owl cattily.

Spike clambered onto the windowsill and grabbed a fold of heavy royal curtain. "Of course, maybe I could say _more_..." he continued, pressing his purple snout against the glass (which fogged up the window and made it quite difficult to see) - "I probably should. Right? I wanna make a good impression - for Twilight's sake. Oh, hey! There they are now."

The stark alabaster figure of Crimson Lance crested the hill before the castle. She strode down the path, her steel horseshoes clinking against pebbles in the dirt. Twilight watched her carefully and - she admitted to herself - a little suspiciously. For all her gracious humility, the governor walked as though she owned Ponyville. And what kind of pony leads a town of blank flanks anyway?

She glanced to her side and found someone staring at her: the fourth ambassador, the unicorn, whose eyes quickly darted away. Twilight awkwardly tried to get as much information as she could from a single glance. She wasn't much too look at. Her fur was a pale green, her face marred with a rather unfortunate spray of freckles, and her eyes were violet and sad-looking. As for her mane - more of a lion's mane than a pony's, really - it was striped blue, very long, and looked as though it had never been brushed or tamed and didn't much intend to be; the same went for her tail. She walked as noiselessly as a cat with her gaze downcast, as if she were afraid the ground might disappear if she looked away.

Twilight looked back up at Crimson Lance, flanked by Berry Buzz on her left and the pegasus Petrichor on her right. Her final attendant was behind her - far behind her. It struck Twilight that the governor might be ignoring her on purpose. Then she decided she didn't particularly care.

"Hi," she said to the unicorn with a big smile.

The unicorn flinched and looked up into Twilight's friendly face. A startled shudder ran through her body. "Hi," she said back, wondering whether she should add "Your Highness."

Twilight gave the unicorn's hoof an encouraging tap. "Who are you?"

"Sour Note," the unicorn responded shyly.

"Sour Note, huh? That's cool. So, what brings you to Ponyville?" the princess continued, with an exaggerated wink to show that she was joking.

The pony Sour Note kept her gaze fixed on the ground. "I wanted to come."

"Well, then, it's lucky you were chosen as an emissary, right?"

"No," mumbled Sour Note. "I just wasn't much of a loss back in Pomphay. So I came. I wanted to come. I thought it would be...um...exciting."

She didn't look very excited.

The shimmering magnificence of Twilight's Castle caught the light of the sun, and reflected it onto Crimson Lance's silver armor and milky fur. She looked down at herself, and for the first time a tiny smile played on her lips. The party had grown very close to the door. A tiny black figure in the foyer window leapt down to the floor, and Twilight was relieved to know that Spike was on top of things. She turned her mind back to puzzling out Sour Note's last response.

A few feet from the door, the governor halted. Her scarlet glance flew back at Princess Celestia - then Luna - then Twilight. She offered an approving look, and Twilight saw a hungry gleam in her eyes and a thrilled open smile - a smile Crimson Lance quickly concealed from Petrichor and Berry Buzz.

The massive door eeked slowly open, as if it were far too heavy for whoever was opening it. Then Berry Buzz, unable to contain her excitement, dashed straight ahead into the foyer; and screamed.

"DRAGON!" she shrieked.

"DRAGON!" howled Petrichor, and in terror shot up about five hundred feet at a speed which rivaled Rainbow Dash.

Governor Crimson Lance made no sound, but leapt into the foyer, her imposing horn charged with angry red energy. She took a powerful stance, armor gleaming, every muscle tense, eyes flaming with murderous fury.

"GAH! WAIT! DON'T!" squeaked Spike.

Twilight materialized between her assistant and her guest and threw up her most powerful magic shield, but Crimson Lance was quick to react. She powered down. The red glow left her eyes. She focused hard on Twilight and the baby dragon with its arms around her neck, but she took a few steps back as well.

"Wh-what are you _doing?"_ she shivered. "With that _dragon?"_

Rarity charged through the door, scooping up Spike in a flash of blue magic. "That _dragon,"_ Twilight said sternly, "is my friend! His name is Spike. What were you going to do, anyway? Hurt him?"

Something clicked in Crimson's mind, and immediately she dipped her body to the ground in a penitent bow, ears back. "I beg your pardon, Your Highness. You must understand..." One eye slid open, watching the young lizard as the white unicorn fawned over his nervous self. "I have been fighting these creatures for moons upon moons. As a unicorn, it is my duty to protect my fellow citizens."

"Oh." Twilight blushed, thinking perhaps she should have thought of that earlier. "It's okay. Just leave him alone from now on. I raised him from an egg, and he is a wonderful little helper."

"As a...unicorn?" Applejack broke in. "What do you mean, as a unicorn?"

Crimson Lance looked from face to face. No one looked _particularly_ angry with her. She relaxed somewhat. "I shall be able to explain much better in your conference area - wherever that might be."

"Of course," replied Luna, pointing her nose in Twilight's direction.

Twilight gave the governor a smile, and trotted over to Rarity and her dragon. "Spike," she announced, "show our _guests_ to the throne room, please."

"B-but Twilight-"

"It's all right, Spikey-Wikey," droned Rarity, nuzzling his cheek. "I won't let them hurt you." She stood beside Spike as the caravan caught up. Petrichor refused to acknowledge the little guy, but the governor gave him an apologetic nod, and Berry Buzz even went so far as to offer him her hoof to shake. They trotted down the hall.

" _As a unicorn_ , indeed," Rainbow hissed to Twilight.

"Now, look, Rainbow Dash. There's no reason to get all huffy. I don't care if you find Crimson Lance a bit suspicious - even a bit imperious..."

"What?" The pegasus looked confused. "No. I wasn't thinking anything like that."

"Oh." The princess gave a nervous laugh, blushing slightly. "Oh...of...course not."

Rainbow Dash continued. _"I_ was talking about the _other_ unicorn - she didn't seem to care so much about her _duty."_

Twilight looked where Rainbow was pointing with her hoof. Princess Celestia was walking with one wing raised as a sort of shelter, beneath which paced a quiet Sour Note. When Berry Buzz shrieked, the unicorn had quickly sought out the strongest pony in the area, and hidden shamelessly behind her.

As with everything else they'd seen since arriving in Ponyville, the throne room in Twilight's castle seemed to captivate every one of the ambassadors - all except Petrichor, the silent and somber pegasus, who hovered consistently at Crimson's side in a flutter of slate blue wings. Berry Buzz couldn't contain her excitement any longer - she capered about in circles around the Cutie Map, which was still lying open with six cutie marks hovering over the castle's icon. Crimson Lance gazed approvingly at the shimmering Map. And Sour Note stopped in her tracks and just stared, a kaleidoscope of crystal colors caught in her violet eyes.

"Welcome, ponies, to…er, my home," Twilight said. She stepped up onto her throne; her friends took her signal to do the same. The princess tapped lightly on the table, and the map dissipated.

"We are most honored, Your Highness," answered Crimson, so that her associates didn't have to.

Twilight rolled her eyes as subtly as possible. She'd spent the entire walk insisting she be referred to as just "Twilight", but no one really seemed to care. That is, Crimson didn't seem to care, and no one else's opinion seemed to matter.

There was a short silence about as relaxed as a barrel of dynamite, which Princess Celestia skillfully and effortlessly bridged with her most winning smile and a fine display of angelic white wings. "It has been so long since I've been able to speak with the leaders of Pomphay. I certainly look forward to working with you again. However, first I thought we might have some questions about each other...do we, girls?" She deferred to Twilight.

Options raced through the young alicorn's mind. _Why doesn't Petrichor say anything? Why is Sour Note so frightened? Why don't any of you have your cutie marks?_

But she was silent. The room was silent. Crimson Lance was looking as though she hadn't expected questions and didn't want to answer them.

Then Applejack spoke up.

"I have a question," she said. "What do y'all do back in Pomphay? For work, I mean."

A wave of relief rippled through the governor's attendants. Finally, something they were prepared for. Crimson Lance took the floor.

"Despite our best efforts, life in Pomphay is difficult. Everypony's help is required to sustain us. In response to the relentless magic of the Everfree Forest, we have developed a simple trifold system of labor. Pegasi," she began, motioning toward the expressionless Petrichor, "constantly and nobly battle the weather." She nodded her head toward Berry Buzz. "Earth ponies fight the soil to provide enough food for us." Finally the governor lifted her head proudly. "And unicorns make up the army to repel the dragon invaders who...er..." Crimson's explanation trailed off as she remembered Spike's existence.

Spike gave a courteous wave of a claw. "No offense taken. Most dragons are total jerks."

"But, Governor, are you saying that's _all everypony_ does?" cried Rarity, who'd pulled off a quick costume change between the foyer and the throne room. "Who makes your clothes?"

Crimson Lance seemed to want this question to _end_. "Nopony does. We do not require _dresses_ for survival," she explained, eyeing Rarity's diamond-studded ensemble. Rarity was suddenly feeling rather overdressed.

 _"I_ have a question," piped up Berry Buzz, ignoring the silent stare she got from Petrichor. "Where are we going to stay?"

She looked the Princess of Friendship right in the eye. Twilight fought a sudden spasm of panic - this problem hadn't occurred to her.

Once again, Governor Crimson Lance seemed prepared. "We have, of course, heard great things about you, Your Highness Twilight Sparkle, and about your magnificent friends. I would appreciate - with your permission, of course, Princess - if you would allow _me_ to stay here, in your magnificent...home, and observe your magical techniques. I am certain I could learn powerful magic from you.

"I would, again, with your permission, place Petrichor with Miss Rainbow Dash." Petrichor gave Rainbow a look that was a little too similar to Maud Pie for Rainbow's comfort. "Your skill in flight and weather management is notoriously unparalleled. And Berry Buzz here might stay with you, Miss Applejack." Berry Buzz was sitting next to Pinkie Pie, both whispering excitedly to one another; but Berry's head jerked up at the mention of her name, and her smile melted into wide-eyed obedience. "You run one of the most successful farms in Equestria, so I've heard. I'm sure Berry Buzz can learn a lot from helping you."

She concluded. Applejack gazed at Berry Buzz. She said more with the droop of her ears and the disappointment in her eyes than she ever could with words. Her short, straight mane reminded Applejack of Pinkie's sisters back on the rock farm; she wasn't sure that what Berry needed was _more_ time farming.

Rainbow Dash gazed at Petrichor. She said absolutely nothing at all. Her strict and soundless attitude reminded Rainbow of Pinkie's sisters; she wasn't sure she could stand having Petrichor living with her.

Twilight smiled. "I think that sounds like a great idea! And we'll make sure you all get a wonderful tour of Ponyville. Applejack, Rainbow Dash, I _know_ you two don't mind," she coaxed.

"Of...course...not," Dash lied.

The princess appeared at her side. _"Look, neither of us was expecting this. But what she's saying makes sense! Please, at least_ try _to be courteous."_

Crimson Lance bowed, and the throne room cleared surprisingly quickly. Even Celestia and Luna disappeared as soon as they could - back to Canterlot, supposedly to check up on their duties before returning to speak with Crimson Lance the next day. Berry Buzz and the other ponies had swept out past the governor as though she were a statue. Then Twilight remembered the small green-and-blue unicorn sitting quietly in one corner.

"Wait!" she called after Crimson, who had begun to leave with Petrichor. Crimson paused and waited respectfully.

Twilight galloped toward her, wings raised; she barely came up to the governor's white shoulder. "What about Sour Note? Did you want her to stay here, too?"

Crimson's eyes widened. She stared at the princess wonderingly, even going so far as to tilt her head to one side. It was as if she'd never heard the name in her life. Petrichor, on the other hand, flapped her wings a bit faster and looked - for the first time - furtive and upset, avoiding Twilight's gaze.

Finally Crimson spoke:

"You may ask whomever you wish to stay with you. It is _your_ castle, after all."

Then, with a look of by-your-leave, she walked out of the throne room.


	4. Home Sweet Home Away From Home

_In which Sour Note, Berry Buzz, and Petrichor find their place in Ponyville._

* * *

Twilight stood stunned. In moments, the castle was clear, except for Spike, Sour Note, and herself. She stared at the pale unicorn, who, shy-looking as she was, couldn't very well blend into the background - not with that bright blue flyaway mane, not to mention the violet scarf. Yet it was as if her name had meant nothing to Crimson. Petrichor, on the other hand...

"Uh, Twilight?"

The princess snapped out of her thoughts to tend to her dragon. Spike was standing in front of Sour Note with his claw extended to shake, while the unicorn, more than three times his size, curled into a tighter ball and shook visibly.

With a reassuring smile, Twilight approached her. "Spike's not going to hurt you, Sour Note. He's friendly."

Sour Note's wide violet eyes looked shyly into Spike's slit pupils; he tried to look even less menacing than usual, which was only debatably possible.

"Are you okay, Sour Note?"

The stranger pony gulped. "No, ma'am - I mean - yes, ma'am. Your Highness."

"'Twilight' is fine."

"Twilight, ma'am. I'm just surprised you addressed me, is all. Um...I'm not used to being addressed."

"I can see that," said Twilight, frowning, and thinking of Crimson Lance. "Do you mind telling me why? I mean, they acted like you didn't exist."

The unicorn stared at the ground.

Twilight switched tactics. She turned sideways, facing the door, one wing raised. "C'mon. You can tell me all about it on the way to the library. I have a magic lesson with my friend Starlight."

Sour Note's face lit up in poorly-concealed excitement. "May I watch, Your - uh - Twilight?"

"Watch? Of course you can. I'd love you to! But first you have to tell me what's going on. I have a feeling it may be important." Six hovering cutie marks reflected in the crystal pillars.

"I seriously doubt that," said Sour Note.

Starlight Glimmer looked concerned when Twilight came through the library door. She stepped down from her stool and laid aside the spellbook she was reading. "Twilight? I heard the Cutie Map called you! Thought maybe you wouldn't be able to make it."

"Of _course_ I made it, Starlight. I'd never miss one of our lessons! Sour Note, this is Starlight - my friend and student." Sour Note waved a shy hello from behind Twilight's dark tail. "Starlight, this is-"

"But where did you go? You were only gone a few minutes! Did you solve your friendship problem already? What-"

"Star _light_!" Twilight almost shouted.

Starlight's ears dropped and she fell silent. "What?"

"I _introduced_ someone to you," the princess said, sorry but meaningful. "A new friend - Sour Note."

"Oh, ehem, hi there," said Starlight, the tiniest bit ashamed at herself.

Sour Note trotted into the library. "Hello, um, Starlight. Princess Twilight says you're...almost as good with magic...as _she_ is." She looked admiringly at Twilight, thinking of all that had been discussed in that labyrinth of hallways - questions about Twilight's exploits, the most trivial _minutiae_ of alicorn magic - being _answered_ when she spoke - a luxury she wasn't sure she ever wanted to lose again.

"Sour Note is going to study magic with us!" Twilight prompted. "She's from beyond the Everfree Forest, and...she'd love to learn what _we_ have to teach her." She waited for this tiny bit of flattery to kick in, and it did. Starlight beamed.

"Really? That's wonderful! Are you really from _beyond_ the Everfree Forest? I bet you know all sorts of spells we haven't discovered yet."

"Oh," Sour Note laughed nervously. She kicked at the corner of her square scarf, which was a lot bigger than it had seemed at first and was now being worn as a cape covering her blank flank. That was Twilight's idea - so as to keep questions to a minimum as long as possible. "M-Maybe." She scanned the room nervously. _I know where this is going,_ she thought.

"Well, I'd be happy to exchange knowledge with you, er…ah! Sour Note. Right now," Starlight began excitedly, her voice almost a whisper as if she were keeping a secret from Twilight, "I'm working on something I found in the Crystal Empire's library. It's _very_ difficult. Want to see?"

Sour Note nodded enthusiastically. Encouraged, Starlight began, taking up her spellbook in a glow of teal magic.

Twilight took a wary step back, considering the fact that even _Starlight_ had _never_ gotten this spell to work correctly _once_ , but there was no fear in Sour Note, eagerly edging closer. Starlight grinned keenly, and the book clattered to the floor. A turquoise flame enveloped her horn. She rose into the air, an invisible blast of wind blowing papers off the tables and pushing open the windows. Wings of blue fire appeared at her sides - her mane went up in flames, her body turning a crystalline teal, and then - then she lost control, the magic aura disappeared, and Starlight tumbled to the ground, with her tail still on fire, while Sour Note clapped vivaciously.

"Gah!" Twilight summoned a bucket of water, and the party was plus one drenched Starlight Glimmer.

Starlight laughed sheepishly. "It's called _Phoinix Arma_. It's supposed to grant flight and elemental protection to the user. Maybe you can do it - here."

She offered the book. Sour Note backed away nervously. "Go on, take it," insisted Starlight.

Shivering, Sour Note closed her eyes tight and focused. A thin, pale violet light wrapped feebly around the spellbook; Starlight let go, and the greenish unicorn held on for a moment - but her magic flickered out. The book fell open on the tiled floor. Sour Note was panting.

Twilight stepped forward. "I was thinking we'd start with the basics."

"Oh," said Starlight.

She looked disappointed; then, catching the ashamed look on the unicorn's face, corrected this, and smiled generously. "No problem," she grinned.

"G'bye, Governor Ma'am!" hollered Applejack over the fence of Sweet Apple Acres. Berry Buzz hooked her forelegs over the wooden beams as Crimson, Petrichor, and Rainbow Dash walked farther and farther down the dirt road. The earth pony was breathless at the vast expanse of orchard before her. Every single tree, she thought, was laden with the most delicious apples of all vibrant hues, of candy-sweet reds and bright, tart greens, and all because of this country pony and her family this town had no chance of going hungry. Going hungry! Berry's stomach gave an annoyed growl, as it had _been_ doing for exactly as long as she could remember. She crossed her legs, embarrassed, and Applejack, noticing, bucked a golden-delicious apple from a nearby cart in her direction. Berry took it in nearly one bite.

Applejack laughed heartily. "I love to see ponies enjoyin' our apples! Yeah," she continued, joining Berry at the south fence, "this here's Sweet Apple Acres, and we're mighty proud of our farmin'. You're welcome to go anywhere ya like here. But I don't think you'll find it all that interesting. I mean, I don't suppose you grow _apples_ back in Pomphay, do ya?" she winked, nudging Berry to show she was telling a joke.

Berry looked around. "We grow _those,"_ she said, pointing with her hoof.

The farm's grove of prize zap-apple trees lay in the distance. "They're the most colorful thing in Pomphay, when they appear. But that isn't very much. I'm sure you know how they work - every so often they just start blooming! What Pomphay needs is a reliable food source. Not these expensive, rare luxuries, relics of a time when food was abundant and the wealthy among us could fritter away resources on such trifles-oh!" She clapped her hooves to her mouth. "I'm sorry." Applejack was looking very confused. "I'm beginning to sound like Red River. She's in charge of us earth ponies. She pushes us to work hard - just like Crimson Lance with her unicorns, and Sun Chaser with the pegasi…"

"Yeah, about that," Applejack drawled amiably. "I was wondering. Have you _ever_ done _anything_ other than farm work?"

Berry shook her head.

"Wow." A thought suddenly crossed Applejack's mind. "Well, uh..." She looked apprehensive. Berry was waiting expectantly. "Ah...as a matter of _fact_ , we won't feel so good about askin' you to help us. We don't really need much help around here. Yeah, uh, the way the, er, soil is, we...hardly-hafta-do-anything-at-all."

"Really?"

" _Sure,"_ Applejack lied incompetently, looking everywhere except at the oblivious Berry. "As a matter of fact, we were...just goin'a take today off!"

Berry beamed. "That's incredible! I've never had a day off."

"WELL then!" said Applejack, relieved at how quickly she got out of it. "Tell ya what. Why don't you drop your belongin's off in the barn, and Ah'll walk ya downtown. Pinkie'd love to show you around."

The purple pony jumped for joy; then she bounded off to the barn with a small set of saddlebags over her shoulders, as Applejack tried to convince herself that this was worth the half lies. As much work as Sweet Apple Acres could be, it must seem easy compared to what Pomphay had to deal with. And she most certainly _would_ feel bad if she asked this pony to work more. She smiled off in Ponyville's direction. Yes, thought Applejack, Pinkie was the pony for the job.

She heard a delighted noise behind her, and looked around to find Applebloom grinning up at her big sister.

"We're gettin' a day _off?_ Whoo-wee! Ah better get to the clubhouse, pronto!"

"Oh, no, you don't!" interrupted Applejack, stepping in front of the yellow filly. "There ain' no days off comin' anytime soon! You best just wait here, 'til I get back. Then we'll get workin' again."

Applebloom looked disappointed, which she was. "Aw, Applejack! Ah jus' wanted to get workin' on more cutie mark probl'ms with the C-M-C." But her few short years at Sweet Apple Acres had taught her when to quit arguing, if little else, and she slunk back toward the farmhouse.

Suddenly, Applejack got another idea. This seemed to be a particularly good day for getting ideas.

"Uh, on second thought, Applebloom, maybe you oughta come with. You an' your friends might be able to help solve the Ambassadors'…er…cutie mark problem."

Applebloom's eyes grew very wide, and she stared at her sister in joyful astonishment. "Really? Ya mean it? Wow! Ambassadors! That's like solvin' cutie mark problems f'r royalty, almost!"

"Actually, it's nothing like that," Applejack began.

But Applebloom was already bounding down the path, shouting, " _Wait'll Ah tell Sweetie Belle an' Scootaloo!_ "

Rainbow Dash was flying well under the speed limit. As a matter of fact, she wasn't sure the airspace over Ponyville _had_ a speed limit, but she did know one thing: Petrichor was strictly obeying it, whether it existed or not. The slate-blue pegasus was infuriatingly slow. She didn't seem to put any effort into keeping up with her guide and the pony who'd (reluctantly) opened up her home, but flapped along at a leisurely pace, yellow eyes roving about, scanning the skies in a lazy, almost instinctual way.

Too slow. Rainbow groaned at her misfortune. Four ambassadors from the same place show up in Ponyville, and here she gets to share her room with the _lamest_ of the lot. The two swept low over a dark heavy storm cloud crackling with electricity, making Rainbow's mane stand on end. Petrichor's stout, proper blue-on-blue braids defied such silliness. She seemed unimpressed.

For a moment, Rainbow had half a mind to tell her off, send her to go live with Fluttershy, maybe. Then she softened. Maybe there was more to Petrichor?

Petrichor?

The ambassador was slowly circling the lightning cloud. She inspected every inch of its murky surface. She breathed its electrified air. Then, very quietly, she reached out with one hoof, and tapped it. The cloud dissipated.

She looked contented. Rainbow's ears perked up. _Of course! The weather!_ Every pegasus could talk about the weather. Here was something they had to have in common! She swooped down to the ambassador, donning a proud yet playful grin.

"Hey!" she called.

Petrichor looked up.

Rainbow fell back to fly beside her. "So…you're on weather duty back in Pomphay, right?"

"Of course," Petrichor said all of a sudden.

Hearing her voice was a bit of a shock - it was a fairly normal voice, but an unexpected one - but Rainbow continued.

"Well, you _know,_ I happen to be a champion cloud-clearer myself!" She waited a moment for this to sink in. "Watch!"

All that was left of Rainbow Dash was a trail of all the most vibrant colors, that swerved and zigzagged through the sky as she knocked out clouds left and right. Her wings sliced cumulonimbus clusters clean through. She could no longer see her companion's expression, but was sure she was in top form. She pulled straight up, then bent sharply into a nosedive, pulling a trail of clouds in the wake of her half-made sonic boom; at the last second, she snapped out of her path, letting the clouds pummel themselves into nonexistence against the countryside.

"Pretty cool, right!" she shouted on her return.

Results were, somehow, less than satisfactory. Petrichor looked impressed, true - but she didn't look _very_ impressed, did she, hovering patiently in place while the great Rainbow Dash made a total mule of herself showing off. Rainbow's blue cheeks flushed pink.

"Very impressive," Petrichor said unimpressedly.

"Well-well-" Rainbow stammered. "Well-you think you can do faster?!"

"Of…course not," said Petrichor. "You were…faster than any pony I've ever seen."

Rainbow's personal cloud home drifted into view, and Petrichor seemed to expend a little effort to get there quicker, as if she didn't want to continue on the subject.

"Then what is your PROBLEM?" snapped Rainbow Dash. "What are you so _bored_ about? Flying is FUN!"

She touched down on her patio. Rainbow's house was an eccentric, reckless collection of white clouds, rainbows flowing like water over its banks and shelves. Petrichor dropped heavily onto it. "Not where I'm from," she said quietly.

"In Pomphay, clouds don't disappear at a kick of your hoof. They _know_ what they're doing, and they fight to stay the way they are. It takes a tremendous amount of _strength_ to stop our clouds," she said, folding her wings with a military snap. "Speed is _NOT_ key."

There was a long, rather tense pause. Petrichor looked at her host sideways, and let her ears fall quietly. "That's why I never learned to fly very fast," she whispered.

She began stepping awkwardly to the part of the cloud that had walls and a roof. Rainbow suddenly felt a sort of pity for her. She flapped to her side in an instant. "Never too late to learn," she said. "Um…it's nice to have you staying with me," she lied through her teeth.

Petrichor looked up, and suddenly her piercing gaze ran through Rainbow's body.

"No it isn't," she said. "This wasn't your idea, and you were never pleased about it. You are letting me stay here with you because your princess ordered it." Rainbow blushed ashamedly. "And…and I can respect that, Rainbow Dash. I respect such obedience. I think…I think we are not so different, you and I. Although," she trailed off, "you are the better flier."

A look of near triumph spread across Rainbow's blue face. "Well, I _am_ a Wonderbolt," she replied proudly.

"You _know_ , I know flying - and you may not fly so fast now, but you've got potential, Petrichor. What say I show you the highlights of the Ponyville sky - where the clouds _don't_ try to kill you?"

Petrichor considered this. Then, she smiled, slowly.

"Petri, please, Rainbow Dash. I'd like that very much."

"Now," said Twilight, "remember what we talked about. Body relaxed. Hooves apart. Close your eyes - picture the shelf in your mind."

Sour Note did as she was told, her ears flicking back and forth as Starlight paced around the room. "Now, all you have to do is make it move."

A heavy-looking book called _101 Mane Charms_ slowly inched its way off the bookshelf where it had sat for a good few moons. Sour Note's body quivered as its corner slipped off the support of the case, but she kept control. Grinning triumphantly, she handed the book to Twilight.

"Excellent!" cheered the princess. She deftly replaced the dusty tome and selected another: _The Principles of Magic._ And she was just trotting back to her two friends when a tall, porcelain pony figure peered through the door.

"Good evening, Princess," said Governor Crimson Lance.

"Hello, Governor," said Starlight. Twilight looked at her confusedly, and she shrugged. "Had to be her," she said.

Sour Note stared at the governor wide-eyed, knowing well she could go unnoticed. "I'm just turning in for the night," said Crimson. "Good night, you two." With that, she trotted away.

Starlight snorted. "'You two?' What?"

"Never mind," interjected Twilight. "Here, try casting this spell, Sour." She held the book open for the little unicorn.

Sour Note focused, and a few sparks fell from her horn, but nothing happened. "Er, Twilight, what is this meant to do?"

"It's a simple growth spell. See this little branch? That spell will make it grow longer," the princess said. Starlight was holding a twig snapped off an outside tree.

The ambassador looked terribly daunted.

"Growth spell?" boomed a voice - a male voice. "WHY, THAT'S _EASY!"_ There was a sharp snap, and the branch burst into an enormous and dazzling bouquet of flowers, which promptly leapt out of Starlight's telekinetic field and ran out the door, past the tall, serpentine figure that stood in the very last glow of the setting sun.


	5. Principles of Magic

_In which Berry Buzz plans a party._

* * *

"What's _he_ doing here?" Starlight stage-whispered to Twilight, smirking at Discord. Somewhere in the heart of Ponyville, the sounds of a wild party went unnoticed by those in the castle.

Laughing deeply, Discord stepped past the astonished green unicorn and scooped up both his "friends" in a dragonish hug. "Why, _I'm_ here to see my old friend _Twilight_ , of course." He bent his magnificent gray neck around to face Starlight. "I am allowed, you know."

Starlight pulled out of his lion's grasp. Then her eyes fell on the stunned Sour Note, whose tail was tangled with sentient flowers. "Oh! Sour Note, this is-"

"DISCORD, my dear," Discord announced grandly, extending his eagle claw, giving Starlight a sideways glare. Sour, wide-eyed, but not shaking, awkwardly placed her pale hoof in his gleaming yellow talons.

"Sour Note," she said in a hushed voice.

Discord got off a laugh like the wheels of a train screeching into its station. "Sour Note. That's cute. What's your special talent - singing off-key?"

"You're one to _talk_ ," Starlight snarled at him. Sour Note planted her hooves on the corners of the scarf-cape that covered her flank.

Discord _humph_ ed. "I was about to voice my _approval_ ," he said with distastefully lowered eyelids, flicking his red dragon's tail with a spray of clattering musical chords. "Well, no accounting for taste, as they say. Listen, Twilight, what I wanted to say-"

"What are you?" Sour Note said suddenly.

Her voice was louder than it had ever been, which wasn't saying much, but it was enough. Suddenly the whole room - all three of them - were staring at her. Usually this was a bad thing, reserved for the most grievous mistakes, but Twilight's coaching had given her a strange sort of courage. And, mistake or not, she had to know.

The wild creature before her reared to his full height, towering over the ponies, his mismatched limbs bathed in the young white moonlight. A tangle of senseless color spread across the window. His one fang gleamed, his eyes glowed, and Sour Note stared in awe, in something almost akin to respect. Flattered, Discord let out a yawning roar. "I," he cried, "am a draconequus, my dear. The Spirit of Chaos! Surely you've heard of me."

"Wow," whispered the unicorn.

"He's nothing but trouble," said Starlight fondly. "Leave the poor girl alone, Discord. She's an ambassador, and should be treated with respect."

Discord simpered down at the diminutive Sour Note, staring upward at his dragonish frame. For a moment he thought things over. Then he snapped his fingers. "Catch," he said.

A cute clay vase full of water popped into existence above her head. She caught it weakly in a violet glow. After a long day of training, it felt heavier than it really was. Discord watched with considerable interest, considering, as she struggled against the pull of gravity; she opened one eye, and met his; then, with a burst of magic, she straightened her legs and stood as tall as she could, threw out her chest, lifted her head, looking determined and feeling suddenly almost _strong_.

"Nice, Sour!" shouted Twilight. But Sour Note seemed more interested in the draconequus.

He looked - well, he didn't look impressed, but he did seem to approve. "Yes, quite. Now don't break that - Fluttershy will kill me." With that he shuddered, and teleported away across the room. "Your new pupil, Twilight?"

The princess giggled. "I guess so, at least for a little while. Sour Note just needs a little help with the basics of magic. We'll master as much of this book as we can while she's still here for negotiations."

Discord picked up the copy of _Principles of Magic_ and flipped through it, snickering a bit, but said nothing. With each page, he snapped his talons, toying with some of Twilight's decorations. "Well, that shouldn't be a problem, should it?" he said finally, just as the book, apparently annoyed with him, snapped shut across his lion's paw.

"It shouldn't…" murmured Starlight, before catching Sour's eye. She gave a small smile, as if in sensible agreement with her hidden fears.

"Well then! Good luck to you all, I suppose. Goodbye," he leered, crossing to the door.

"Wait!" called Twilight. "What was it you wanted to say to me?"

Discord paused. "Oh, yes, that. Well, it's only that old Tree of Harmony of yours. Seems there's some sort of giant _chasm_ opened up behind it. Very odd indeed."

"WHAT?!" shrieked Twilight, unfurling her wings with a snap and dashing off toward the forest. Discord smiled inscrutably and vanished.

Starlight Glimmer gave a little whimper, finding herself alone with the inept Sour Note. She wasn't sure what made the unicorn interesting to her - perhaps she understood what it was like to be around other ponies more gifted in magic than she, as Sunburst had been. She gave a tired smile - they'd been practicing simple levitation for hours already.

"C'mon, Sour," Starlight said. "Let's try that growth spell again. I'm sure you can get it this time."

With some difficulty, Berry Buzz opened her eyes; she couldn't decide whether she felt more thrilled or nauseated. The paneled walls of Sugarcube Corner were lying upside-down in front of her. A lightheaded sensation swept through her fuchsia body, and she scrambled to the floor, licking sugar from the corner of her mouth. Her hooves were sticky with paint and rock candy and kept getting stuck to the green linoleum.

An enormous yawn escaped her. Her fluorescent eyes opened wider, and the room came into focus. It was quite the sight. Masses of slowly deflating balloons drifted across the floor; a veritable torrent of last-night's streamers hung from the rafters. Berry stepped on a string, and an explosion rocked the bakery; one of Pinkie's confetti cannons had gone off. It seemed to rouse its titular sleeping pony. Pinkie Pie bounced like a spring down the stairs, greeting her new friend with the biggest smile she'd ever seen.

"Morning!" she hollered, her nose pressed against Berry's.

"M-Morning," Berry mumbled weakly. "That was…a lot more…exciting than the party you threw at the Forest. Wh-What a great time!"

Pinkie Pie squealed with delight. "I'm SO glad you think so!"

Berry yawned again, blinking lazily. As she gazed out the window onto the streets of Ponyville, now bathed in glittering gold from the newly risen sun, a sense of peace stole over her like the quietly twittering birds flitting past the window. She smiled, slow, even though something was nagging at the back of her mind. What was she forgetting?

"Oh, yes. But I think I could use a good long night's sleep…soon," she added. She was feeling as though she'd been woken up at two in the morning for drills.

"Ha HA! Silly filly, you can't sleep TONIGHT! Last night was only the _practice_ party. Get you acquainted with the art of celebration! Tonight's the real thing. See, that's why we couldn't invite Twilight or Crimson Lance or Applejack or Fluttershy-"

Berry, who'd been trying to clean up last night's party in preparation for tonight's party, dropped a tray full of half-eaten cupcakes, which clattered to the floor.

She'd remembered.

"APPLEJACK!" she shrieked, leaping ten feet in the air splayed like a firework. "CRIMSON LANCE!"

She broke into a headlong charge for the door, tumbling over a table, streamers glued to her hooves, nearly tripping over Gummy the gator, lowering her head to ram through the door…and caught Applejack squarely in the chest.

The ambassador fell backwards, back into Sugarcube Corner. Applejack looked down at her sympathetically.

"Wa-yull, howdy there!" drawled Applejack. "I was just on my way lookin' for you. That musta been _some_ party last night, Pinkie," she said approvingly.

Pinkie looked around herself. "Party? What party? I don't see any party, do you, Berry?"

"I do," said Berry.

"Shhhhhhhh!" Pinkie hissed. "Surprises!"

Berry took a shameful, sticky walk out the door to the cobblestone stoop outside, where she parked herself patiently. A sniff at the sky told her the weather was more perfect here today than it had ever been in Pomphay. Ponies, all with different marks blazoned on their flanks, were trotting about contentedly in the sunshine. She looked at Applejack with a sorry glint in her eyes. "I'm ready to go," she said. "Back to your farm."

Applejack laughed. "Why? You seem like you're havin' a great time. What'd you want to leave for?"

The other pony looked absolutely scandalized. "But-but I'm s'pposed to live at-at Acres! I mean...I mean, if Governor Crimson finds out I'm not learning alongside the greatest farmer in Ponyville, why-"

"Well...there's no harm if she _don't_ find out, is there?"

As she finished reasoning through this not-untruth, Applejack was met with a blank stare. Then a moment of terror. Then, Berry's mouth split into a magnificent grin. "You mean that?"

"I... _Ah do,"_ said Applejack. "I know how important food is to Pomphay - er, us too, I guess - but I don't feel so right about you bein' stuck farmin' with me. Seems to me if you've been farmin' for years and ain't earned your cutie mark yet, maybe you're destined for somethin' different."

"My...my cutie mark? You mean your apples, like, or Pinkie Pie's balloons?"

"Yep," Applejack said.

"But almost none of us have those."

Applejack shook her head sadly. "Then maybe you just need a little help. My sister is a Cutie Mark Crusader - she helps ponies with their cutie mark problems. Maybe she can help you and your friends."

"I think I'd like that," said Berry Buzz, swishing her neon green tail.

"Good! Great. In the meantime, you enjoy yourself, Berry. You look like you've got a lot on your hooves right now, so I'll leave ya to it." The pony gave another glance at the aftermath of the previous night.

Berry glanced self-consciously at the torn pink paper stuck stubbornly to her hooves, and Applejack was gone.

Another cheerful explosion rocked the bakery. Berry Buzz turned around to find Pinkie testing her faithful confetti cannon after a night of partying. Her mane was even more of a frizzled mess than usual, and adorned with streamers. With a sigh, Berry shook her own mane, perfectly straight and sliced off short as if cut by one swipe from a sword. She couldn't remember a time before her hair had been so.

"Aw, c'mon, Berry! This might be my greatest party feat yet! But we better get working. Is there anything in particular _you'd_ like to do?"

Berry considered this.

"Well...I would like to try your party cannon," she said.

A razor-sharp rainbow sliced through the approaching cloud bank; Rainbow Dash pulled off a tight barrel roll and dipped into a nosedive. There was Petrichor! Down at nimbus level, where she didn't have to deal with the jet winds that prevailed higher. Rainbow pulled up alongside.

"Didja SEE that one?" she howled. "Man, I love flying. Best job EVER!"

"Yes," Petrichor panted. But she didn't take her eyes off the expanse of sky ahead of her, so Rainbow Dash wasn't quite convinced.

The new roommates had begun their day quite late in the morning with a couple hours of friendly time trials, though it occurred to Rainbow that maybe this little tank of a cloud-buster wasn't quite ready for that kind of exercise - emphasizing speed _and_ stamina. Not that Petri had complained all afternoon; you could see it in her eyes. They wore a glazed, determined look, and her blue body was drenched and shone with sweat as her tired wings beat heavily against the Ponyville air. But she never complained. Rainbow judged - rightly, as it was - that complaining was simply not in this mare's nature. She respected that.

"You doin' okay, Petri?"

Petrichor grinned suddenly at the nickname no one else would use. "Yeah," she gasped, adopting Rainbow's dialect as a kind of courtesy. She seemed a lot less uptight than the day before.

Below them, the land flew rapidly by, candy-colored roofs flashing past one after another. Rainbow dodged some air traffic - a small clique of pegasi toying with a fluffy cloud - Petri flew in the draft of her wing, trying to catch her breath. The lead pony pointed suddenly at the ground.

"Look! There's Pinkie down there! And that friend of yours - looks like they're headed toward the swimming hole."

Petri looked down.

Pink, purple, and green bounced down the tawny path gleefully, both ponies carrying enormous canvas bags of stiff, glittering cards. Some distance ahead of them lay the swimming hole. The midday sun that burned into the backs of the pegasus ponies shimmered off the clean water like a billion sequins scattered over a bed of deep blue cotton. The water looked so cool from above, so inviting...

"Hey! Did you _hear_ me?" shouted Rainbow over a sudden gale.

Without looking back, Petrichor dove, picking up speed as she fell from the sky. Rainbow Dash froze a moment in surprise, then zoomed after her in a stream of color. The earth raced closer. "Pull up!" she cried. "You're _not_ a _Wonderbolt!_ You can't _do_ stunts like that yet!"

At the last second, instead of straightening out as her friend had expected, Petri sent a small wind vortex into the pond with her wings. The surface tension softened, and the next moment she was engulfed in the water, sending swells and a magnificent crest up to the sandy edges - her dark form swished along through the pool, fishlike in its graceful swim. Berry Buzz cheered from far off. Petrichor emerged and landed in the grass; Rainbow touched down beside her.

"What'd you do THAT for?! You had me worried there!"

Petri laughed sheepishly. "I was hot," she said. "And cooling off in the river back home is my favorite thing to do. Sorry I scared you." She flapped her waterlogged wings, sending a fine spray in all directions. The sparkling mist fell on Rainbow's heated fur - she grinned good-naturedly.

"Ah, that's okay. Actually...pretty awesome, I'd say."

"I get the feeling you say that a lot," said Petri with a knowing smile.

That smile disappeared when Pinkie and Berry arrived at the scene. Petrichor stiffened, her eyelids lowered, wings folded neatly like ironed fabric. The earth ponies came springing down as careless handfuls of carefully-decorated invitations were lost to the summery breeze. Rainbow trapped one between her hooves - across a glittering pink background, it read:

 _"PINKIE PIE AND BERRY BUZZ_

 _cordially invite you to a_

 **PONYVILLE/POMPHAY FRIENDSHIP CELEBRATION**

 _tonight at Sugarcube Corner_

There will be games, music, cake, and a special surprise from Pomphay's own BERRY BUZZ

 _WE HOPE TO SEE YOU THERE!"_

"Whoa. How many of these did you make?" whimpered Rainbow Dash, gazing at the hoof-painted invitations.

Pinkie beamed. "I don't know! I stopped counting after the third bag of glitter. Hey, Rainbow Dash, can we ask you for a little favor?"

"Uh, sure, Pinkie. What?"

She pushed her friend forward - Berry giggled nervously. "Would you mind flying all over Ponyville and air-dropping these invitations to everyone?" she blurted out. "It's really short-notice, and we're still getting everything ready. Pinkie Pie says you're the fastest pegasus in town. You could do it in no time at all, right?"

Rainbow Dash paused, and then grinned cockily. "You bet we can! Right, Petri?"

Her wings unfolding suddenly, Petrichor stepped back. Her yellow eyes opened wide and darted from side to side, as Berry looked on in amazement.

"'Petri'? She calls you Petri?" she cried.

A red reluctant blush showed through her blue fur. "Er...yes, Rainbow Dash. I am certain we could...I mean...yes, ma'am."

Berry was snickering hysterically, and buried her face in Pinkie's mane to muffle her voice. Her ears drooping, Petrichor began to slink away from the defiant earth pony in shame; her host was...confused, but the instincts inscribed in her soul leapt to her new friend's defense.

"Look!" yelled Rainbow Dash, "Ya don't laugh at people for no reason. That's hurtful. What's your problem, anyway? Lots of ponies have nicknames."

Suddenly Berry went hot with embarrassment.

"Pegasi don't have nicknames," she said. "They're the toughest of the tough. I'm sorry. I was just surprised, Petri... _chor_. We walked all that way here, and you never said a word or let on that you were alive. I wanted to talk to you, but you were kinda scary."

"Scary? I'm not scary."

"You were my hero," Berry insisted. "You stopped a twister once that would've plowed straight through the field I was in. You saved my life. I was so excited to get to know you on this trip, but you weren't interested. You just kinda kissed up to Crimson Lance the whole time."

Petri stepped awkwardly in place. "I...was afraid of being sent back home, if I didn't act the way a pegasus should. I wanted so badly to see Ponyville...to relax," she admitted.

The two stood nose to nose. Then Berry smiled, and then Petrichor.

"We'd love to hand out those invitations for you," said the latter, extending her hoof.

"AWESOME!" shrieked Pinkie Pie to remind everyone she was still there. "Thank you, thank you, thank you! And remember, you're ALL invited too, and _you better be there, or else..._ we'll just have to throw another, right, Berry?" She slung her saddlebags down in the grass and began cantering back to Sugarcube Corner. Berry nosed through the bags and procured a larger-than-normal invitation, in purple with a large pink star on the back.

She passed the card to Petrichor. "This one goes to Her Highness Twilight's castle. Could you deliver it yourself? Pinkie said it's important."

"Certainly," replied Petri around the invitation between her teeth.

She looked around for Rainbow, who was already lugging the pink invitations into town. Then Berry Buzz was gone, too.

With a surprisingly relaxed sigh, Petri flexed her wings, tossing her braided mane over one shoulder; she took a moment to breathe; then she took to the sky.

"That's better...that's excellent, Sour Note...keep it up…"

Sour Note didn't open her eyes to receive Twilight's praise - she feared that if she did, she'd lose control of the applewood twig that was slowly growing longer under the influence of her foalish lavender magic. Her blue tail flicked back and forth in a sort of tense instinct. In her mind she pictured, as instructed, a branch full of leaves and the pale pink flowers that apple blossoms wore before turning into their fruit, ever scarce back home in Pomphay.

The library, clutter-free when the day began, was stacked with empty plates and castleish trinkets and decks of cards for dexterity practice. Spike lay in a bed of leather book bindings a few feet from the determined little unicorn. Sour no longer really feared Spike. He had let her stroke the spikes atop his head without biting; she had spoken with him rather intelligently on the subject of calligraphy; she had taken a lump of sugar - an elegant delicacy Sour Note only knew of through the stories told by her elder ponies - from his violet claws and she had eaten it. Spike's intentions were honest and the candy he offered poison-free; Sour was only sick from eating far too much of it. She was used to eating last out of all, whatever scraps might be left behind.

A gentle tap at the door was magnified through the cavernous hallways. Twilight gave Spike a nudge. The little dragon yawned, and trotted patiently off into the foyer.

Soon after, a pegasus flew into the library, hiding her pleased expression.

"Petrichor?" Sour Note whispered abashedly, folding her ears, opening her eyes, and dropping the overgrown twig.

The pegasus only looked in the direction of the voice for a moment; it was one of her weaknesses, she knew, for some reason, that she had trouble ignoring defective ponies the way Governor Crimson Lance expected of her. Petri turned and bowed to Princess Twilight, offering the castle invitation with her teeth. Twilight picked up the card with a swish of her horn.

Her eyes scanned the page. "Pinkie Pie and…Berry Buzz…why, Pinkie's gotten your friend into party planning, Sour Note! Just look at all those hoof-painted balloons."

"That's nice," Sour Note whispered. At the moment she and Petri were trying to look at one another without the other noticing; for just as Petrichor's rare smile had not escaped Sour's attention, Petri found herself contemplating the weakling unicorn who was not only using telekinesis successfully, but was learning to cast a spell as well.

Twilight cleared her throat and read on. "Pinkie Pie and Berry Buzz cordially invite the inhabitants of Ponyville Castle to enjoy VIP status at tonight's Ponyville/Pomphay Friendship Celebration at Sugarcube Corner. We hope you can come and have a wonderful time. Twilight, we were hoping you could say a few words before the cake is cut, about our new Pomphayian friends. Starlight, we could use your help setting up our big finale. Stop that, Starlight," Twilight scolded as her student rolled her eyes.

"But I didn't want to go to a party tonight. I've got work to do."

"Starlight," countered Twilight, "Pinkie needs your help. And this is a party to bring Ponyville and Pomphay ponies together. You really _should_ go.

"Spike, Governor Crimson Lance…and Sour Note…please come and enjoy what we've got planned. There will be games, cake, and dancing. See you soon!"

Twilight looked up. Crimson Lance was standing in the doorway, looking as if she'd had something to say but had thought better of it. Instead she glared at Petrichor, who immediately resumed her usual military stance.

"Good afternoon, Governor," said Starlight, a little acidically, remembering that _she'd_ been a kind of Governor herself once.

Crimson Lance bowed. "Good afternoon. I apologize for my absence today. I have been making preparations for our conference with the High Princesses tomorrow. This is extremely important to us," she added, still glancing at the hovering pegasus.

"You're invited to a party tonight, Governor," Twilight interjected cheerfully. "One of _Pinkie Pie's_ parties. They're the _best._ You are coming, right?"

As she took up the invitation in her own red aura, the governor looked at the princess, Starlight thought, with almost a hint of distaste. "I am afraid not, Your Highness. This meeting must go well; I must be prepared. I trust you will enjoy yourselves without me."

"Oh, that's a shame," said Twilight, unsure whether she meant it or not. "Well, good luck, anyway. Come on, you three, and you too, Spike. Let's see what we need to do to get ready. Night, Governor."

"Goodnight, Your Highness," whispered Crimson Lance.

The room was empty when she looked over the invitation again. With her magic, at a distance, she tore a small strip - just two word days - out of the body of the message. They burnt up in a crimson flame. She laid the invitation down on Twilight's desk and walked out of the library without a word.


	6. What It Takes to Be Happy

_In which Sour Note and Discord form a tentative friendship._

* * *

There was an alligator on the front porch. As Twilight approached, it gazed up at the troop of guests arriving behind her with the blankest expression ever seen on a living creature. Petrichor, after a long day of flight, gave the extra effort to hover a few inches higher off the ground: scaly things always _got_ to her, whether dragons or not.

"Well, hello, Gummy," giggled Twilight. "Are you here to let us in?"

Gummy stared at her and stuck out his tongue.

The door swung open and a mass of pink fur leapt out. " _THERE_ you all are!" Pinkie shouted, trotting excitedly in a circle. "We've been _waiting_ for you. Come on in, you guys! The party's just getting started...Wait..." A lot of her energy seemed to vanish quite suddenly. "Isn't Governor Crimson Lance coming?"

"She has work to do," whispered Petrichor. Twilight nodded solemnly.

"Oh...oh, well! We'll still have _lots_ of fun all together! Hello, Petri. _There_ you are, Sour Note! Who's the pony I wanna see smile?"

She tackled Sour Note in a big, pink hug. The pale green unicorn, after a moment of flinching terror, allowed herself to be dragged into the center of the bakery, where ponies of all sorts bumped back and forth to a rhythmic beat. Classic rock-and-roll music tumbled out of some hidden speaker. Gazing around the room, Sour Note found Berry Buzz, and regarded her with some apprehension. To her surprise, the earth pony met her eyes, and smiled. She mouthed the words, _"Go on"_.

Sour Note stumbled ahead, pale violet cape still trailing bedraggledly behind her.

Only a few minutes later, it was as if all of Ponyville had shown up in that little bakery, and the party was far beyond a mere "full swing". Pinkie Pie was absolutely in her element. She bounced from one group of ponies to the next, chattering, giggling, offering cupcakes. Berry followed at first. Then Pinkie sent her outside - the backyard where the finale was being set up - to explain everything to Starlight. And confetti rained from the ceiling! And ponies happily jostled one another senseless on the dance floor! And the music - the music! - was all there was to hear!

Sour Note clamped her ears to the sides of her head as she watched Petrichor make the acquaintance of a quiet yellow pegasus with long pink hair. She couldn't hear a word they said, although they were obviously speaking as loudly as they could.

"Don't like this," she whispered to herself. "Loud. Scary. Should be working-" At that moment, someone stepped on her cape, yanking it from her throat to reveal her blank flank to an uninterested audience. She quickly snatched up the fabric in her teeth and wove her way back to the door.

"Oh, I'd appreciate it ever so much if you'd come help me with the larger animals," Fluttershy said courteously to Petrichor, the two flapping relaxedly over a table of red velvet treats. "Sometimes they can be a handful, and the ones I haven't known for long know they can overpower me…and I'd love to get to know more about Pomphay, of course."

Petrichor's method of expressing anything, from thanks to respect to shame to joy, was generally a small bow from the shoulders with delicately closed eyes. "I would love to meet them," she said.

Berry capered like a filly on her way back through the door. She could barely contain her excitement or her pride at the show she was about to put on.

Three small heads poked out from underneath a long purple tablecloth. Applebloom had not been neglected in the invitation process; neither had Sweetie Belle, or Scootaloo, for that matter. Their wide young eyes scanned the crowd for the blank flanked mares who would hopefully be the next step along their career as Cutie Mark Crusaders. It was only Sweetie Belle, however, who noticed Sour Note disappear into the last remnants of day, but she didn't quite feel that she ought to say anything about it.

Sour Note paused on the doorstep, though the castle gates were unlocked and swung wide open at a touch of her hoof. The sun was sinking behind a softened ridge of violet mountains, transforming them into a distant silhouette against a sherbet orange expanse of sky. At the same moment, the rocky moon, half glowing, crested a far-off meadow amidst a sea of empty blue, dotted with stars. The light fell on her sickly-shaded, freckled face, and the unicorn savored that light and the cool, friendly breeze that blew through her mangled cyan mane. It took several thoughts of Crimson Lance to drive her back into the castle.

She stepped blindly through the rapidly-darkening halls, pushing pictures of Twilight's magnificent guest bedroom out of her mind. Magic was more important. She nosed open the door to the library.

It turned out to be a door to a bathroom instead. Sour Note walked through the _next_ door.

"Well, good evening," purred a voice - if not familiar, certainly it was easily recognizable.

Sour Note looked up. "Do you live here?" she asked quietly.

"Oh, _heavens_ no," laughed Discord, laying down one of Twilight's books and picking up another as if he couldn't care less what was in them.

Sour Note approached the draconequus timidly. He towered over her - he could reach the top shelves of the library _without_ using magic at all. And his magic - dragon's _wings_ , his magic! - it was as if he could do _anything_ that took his fancy. Sour Note wanted more. She so suddenly wanted to watch this new master, who pushed Crimson Lance's superiority clean out of her mind, to have the kind of fun he seemed to get out of just living. But, weakest-of-the-weak unicorn that she was, and hardly expecting the responses he'd already given, she was left wondering who would make the first move, as it were. Luckily, he did.

"Shouldn't you be downtown with the rest of those _party animals?"_ he snorted, with just the slightest hint of fondness in his manner.

Sour shook her head. "I need to practice more than I need to party," she said sadly.

The draconequus gave a theatrical groan, teleporting across the room in a restless gleam of light. "Of course you do. And here I thought you might be a little fun. You're just like Twilight, I should have known."

"What?" Though she couldn't understand his logic, a hurt warmth flushed through her body. "But I'm nothing like Her Highness. I can't work the most basic of spells - _she's_ incredible. ...Like you," she added, gazing up at his fanciful form, so different from anything she'd ever seen.

Discord, his ears flicking up at this unmistakable admiration, smiled cunningly over his shoulder. "Oh, it's nothing, really - it's a piece of _cake -_ to me." A snap of his talons sent the contents of one table flying off in random directions, a tall layered cake appearing in their place, and Sour Note found herself laughing. The treat was a perfectly artisan affair done up in alabaster frosting: three modeling-chocolate ponies, one of each type, were posed atop the layers; two sleeping dragons - or were they…not? - encircled its base. Initials in colorful, curly script dotted the sides: CL, BB, P, SN. Discord gave the cake a faux look of confusion. "Hm, I wonder where that came from?"

Sour regained her composure enough to say seriously, "But that's amazing. I'll never be as good as you. That kind of power, and you don't even have to think about it? You don't have to practice at all?" She looked discouraged, dejected.

The spirit of chaos shifted uneasily. This unicorn…he recalled his escapade in the old Changeling Kingdom, wandering across the desert with no magic to speak of - and then imagined having no _hope_ of ever getting it back. Discord was never one to be sympathetic, and never, _never_ one to make friends out of strangers for no reason. But - perhaps it was Fluttershy's voice in the back of his mind - he sighed and said, "Well…I _am_ an inherently magical being. As far as ponies…I mean, even Twilight has to practice... _all the time."_

With a shake of her head, Sour considered this. "Not the way I do...really?"

"Of course," Discord smiled. It was almost easier to assure her the second time around. He went back to the bookcases, tearing out pages and working them into a mock origami statue - probably of himself, if he'd finished it. Sour Note found the courage to walk up to his work, intently watching every movement.

The next book he selected was _The Principles of Magic_. He flipped through the pages with a smirk. "So, which of these are you on, then?"

"Er...number two," Sour admitted. "It's a color-changing spell. But when I try it, the cover just stays...brown." She took the spellbook from his paws and cast some ineffectual sparks in its direction.

Discord purred, "Well, what color were you after?"

"Purple, I guess?"

It didn't take the draconequus even a twitch of the hand to change the book's cover to a deep lilac.

"Thank you..." said Sour Note slowly. "I...I'm sure Her Highness Twilight knows the best way to learn, but really...I need to learn combat spells, to please Governor Lance. We don't really use magic for anything else in Pomphay, so I have trouble with these...Principles. Of course, I wish I could learn the Governor's crimson blade technique, but even the strongest of us..." She nodded sadly.

"I...I can't thank you enough for listening to me, Lord Discord."

Discord looked slightly thrown off. "It's no trouble," he said. "Why?"

"No one listens to defective ponies like me. At least, not at home. Here, things are different. Ponies aren't working two-thirds of the day and sleeping the rest. There's libraries of spells that aren't even for fighting. There's a dragon... _in this castle_...and no one is afraid of it. Er, him. And you, you just seem to have so much _fun_..." She perked up a little. "It's amazing. Your life must be wonderful."

She blinked up at him, subconsciously switching on the one skill she knew she had: looking pathetic enough to draw charity from the few soft-hearted of society.

Compared to Crimson Lance, even Discord fell into that category. He scratched the back of his grey neck. "Oh, not really. I mean, I _can_ do anything I _want_. But, of course, no one likes chaos around here, so I have to tone it down a lot - to keep my friends, you know," he added, thinking of Fluttershy.

"That's terrible," said Sour Note. It was the loudest thing she'd said since she arrived in Ponyville.

"They...they don't know what it's like _not_ to be able to have fun. To - to _work_ sixteen hours a day. To know, when you're born, exactly what you're going to do all your life, and it's the _same thing forever_ \- and if you're no good, it's like you don't exist. You! You can make the world a kaleidoscope madhouse. You can...I heard someone say...you can make candy rain from the _sky!_ And they won't _let_ you? They don't know what they're missing. I just-I don't understand."

She was silent, as if horrified with herself for speaking at all. The monstrous draconequus loomed over her. He, seeming to realize this, curled his body around itself until he was only twice as tall as the unicorn.

"I couldn't agree more. Pinkie Pie - you know Pinkie Pie, of course - she liked the sugary stuff, but I've never...I've never met a pony who talked quite like you." He tried to show, in his twisted countenance, that he approved of this.

"Thank...you?"

A ringing laugh filled the library. "Maybe I could help you, Sour Note."

"Help? You mean," the unicorn cried, "you could help me learn magic?"

Discord smiled inscrutably.

"Help me impress Governor Crimson Lance?"

"Why not?"

"Discord!-You're wonderful!" whinnied Sour Note, galloping in a circle around his feet. Her blue mane flew wild as a Pomphayian storm cloud, violet sparks trailing erratically behind her.

 _What have I gotten myself into?_ thought Discord - in earnest. He lifted his plumed tail out of her way. Maybe this was a bad idea...maybe it wasn't.

The library window was ever so slightly open. Off in the distance, in the very heart of Ponyville, a near stampede of ponies sang along to Pinkie's soundtrack record as they tumbled into the backyard of Sugarcube Corner. The pounding like a heartbeat reverberated through the warm night air. There was a moment's pause. Then, a particle of light shot up into the black night sky. Fireworks cracked apart overhead, bathing the houses below in brief flashes of unnatural light, fuchsia and lime, powder red, deep blue. They fell silently as they burned out, back to the earth.


	7. Noticed

_In which a meeting takes place, and Sour Note performs a spell._

* * *

The train, as a matter of courtesy, was deemed unnecessary - a chariot pulled by Canterlot pegasi in gleaming armor came by the castle to pick up Twilight and the ambassadors. It was only large enough for four ponies (Crimson Lance had neglected to mention Sour Note in her final dispatch to the High Princess), but Petrichor managed to convince Twilight that she didn't mind having to fly, despite her wings secretly aching from her sessions the day before. Crimson took up almost two ponies' worth of room, and Sour rode to Canterlot crouching invisibly between her silver armored shoes. Berry Buzz spent the whole trip with her forelegs hooked over the side of the carriage; more than once Twilight had leapt to her hooves in alarm, when it looked like her new friend might fall.

If Ponyville was a breath of fresh air, then Canterlot's sweeping spires and rich, elegant colors were simply otherworldly. The city, sprouting from the sheer side of a mountain like Olympus, wove itself in an intricate spiral dotted with charming homes, lined with rows of the finest shops and restaurants in all of Equestria. As she looked below, Crimson Lance tapped her back hoof in a sort of restless tick, as if resisting the urge to jump out of the chariot and join the ponies below; her expression never changed, however.

Twilight looked proudly over what was once her home. "Welcome to Canterlot, everypony: the heart of Equestria."

The pegasi touched down before the castle gates. Crimson was, of course, the first to step off and stand gazing up at the sprawling, soaring structure. Petrichor collapsed on the opposite side of the chariot - where Crimson Lance couldn't see her - panting heavily, as Berry Buzz came and sat patiently beside her until she was ready to walk again.

"This way, everypony. Princess Celestia and Princess Luna will be waiting for us in the Great Hall," Twilight said.

Sour Note slipped in the gate as soon as it opened, casting a self-conscious glance at the classy unicorns strolling about in the cobble streets, their horns ablaze carrying shopping bags, paper fans. She laughed nervously to the alicorn. "Er...with your permission, Your Highness," she shivered, glancing at Crimson Lance, "I think I would prefer to stay out here - out of the way."

"Oh. Okay. Suit yourself," said the princess. Sour trotted gratefully over to one corner of the courtyard, where a kind of topiary mass stood, and sniffed at a branch of violet flower buds.

A wide hallway led into the castle's heart, where a massive set of royal doors awaited the delegation. Behind them stood Princess Celestia in all her regal splendor. Her golden jewelry, freshly shined, necklace and tiara carved set with semi-precious purple gems, didn't seem quite in place in the immaculate reflection of the door, and the princess fidgeted with them uncomfortably. She fanned her impressive wings, as was her wont, twitching the feathers into place. She took more than a couple deep breaths.

"Is something troubling you, dear sister?" said the contemplative voice of the younger princess, seasoned and matured by many centuries on the empty surface of the moon. That voice had once held the loyal awe of a child for her big sister - a voice of trust. Now, it was often a voice of reason.

Celestia lowered her magnificent head to accept her sister's support. "In a thousand years, Luna, my feelings for diplomatic work remain unchanged. These ponies…tell me, Luna, honestly, what do I owe to them?"

"What do you mean, owe to them?"

The leader bowed sadly. "I...I didn't help them when the disaster came to Pomphay," she admitted. "Governor Velvet Revels told me he could handle reparations, and, like a fool, I let him. When he-when Crimson Lance succeeded him, it was clear Pomphay was in deep trouble; but by then, I had...other troubles." She smiled at her sister, thinking of the day Twilight Sparkle and her friends had set her free from Nightmare Moon.

"All this is to say, Luna: Pomphay may be the most inhospitable town within the borders of Equestria. I don't know how much help I can give them now. I don't even know how much I _should_ give. Luna...help me."

Luna's way of helping was to stare ahead at the door and nod solemnly. "I don't know enough yet to advise you," she whispered. "Your choice is your choice - you can't always know what will come of it. 'Whatever may befall thee, it was preordained for thee from everlasting.'

"But I sense this debt question is not your only dilemma."

"No," Celestia admitted sheepishly.

"It's Crimson Lance. I used to love...that's to say...I admired Governor Velvet Revels' outlook on life very much indeed. But his daughter is just so...different. I don't think I like her very much, Luna."

The younger princess's laugh was like a deep choir of church bells, golden and vast, tolling care in every note.

"Ah, but the wonderful world of diplomacy. Perhaps if we leave her out there long enough, she'll go away. Or were you planning on opening the door anytime soon?"

As the voices around Celestia's table droned on, Crimson Lance found it difficult to keep her focus off the chandelier dripping with filigree over their heads. After all, Pomphay, even after years of relentless construction and war on three fronts, still looked like what it was: a slipshod, underdeveloped, pathetic little settlement of dark thorn wood bound into shacks with parched Everfree vines. The fields sprawled dry as desert; the sky brought lightning, but no rain; dragonfire engulfed one hastily-constructed shelter after another.

Though a carefully cultivated sense of duty laid her curved nose level with the rest of the group, it was fighting some deep instinctual longing to stare at the enchanting beauty above her.

Princess Luna, who had, for some five minutes, been resting her head on the table, woke up to tactfully interrupt a doubtlessly important but somewhat meandering story from Berry Buzz about the conditions of the farms back home. "Certainly we know that this discourse is important to you, in ways we cannot dream of ourselves. I think it is time…" (she savored this pause, as the sense of changing topics in her words lit up five drowsy pairs of eyes) "…for us to draw out a basic contract."

Berry Buzz slumped in her seat, giving Twilight a desperate look. She mouthed the words, _that sounds BORING._

Twilight smiled at the earth pony as she addressed the table: "Yes, let's. I think it's best we get this over with. Princess Celestia, I believe it's _your_ place to make demands?"

A hush fell over the already hushed meeting. Celestia cleared her throat, and, after a pause to allow her authority to suffuse throughout the room, she said very slowly and deliberately:

"Yours is a unique position, Governor, and I'm afraid you have placed us in one as well. As you know, Everfree magic is taxing even for an alicorn to suppress; it never rests - you have experienced this. I would like to do what I can, but..." She glanced at Luna for support, and her sister discreetly waved an encouraging silver hoof. "But through simply providing aid, I cannot ensure the lasting relations I wish for between us all. I am sorry to tell you this, but both sides must have something to give for this deal to pass."

For the first time, Crimson Lance looked really flustered. Her eyes dilated and, as though staring down an enemy, she drew herself up to her full height, armor clinking jarringly. "But, Your Highness, Princess Celestia, we can barely feed ourselves - there is no way for us to send supplies to your kingdom. And every soldier we have is occupied at the borders. Your demands are unreasonable, Your Highness!"

"There are plenty of things to give, beyond food or military service," Luna pointed out, coming valiantly to her sister's aid.

"But-but Your _Highness,"_ whimpered Crimson Lance, trying not to look as helpless as she was.

Celestia gave a look that told everyone present exactly how serious she was.

That look was a final blow that brought on the governor's wordless surrender. "Well, then, if this is settled," offered Luna, "perhaps we should give the ambassadors some time to decide what they have to give. This meeting has been long enough for everyone, I should say."

Crimson Lance gathered a proud breath and her fellow Pomphayians as she made rather stiffly for the door, hers and their heads already bowed together to find somehow a solution. Luna seemed relieved to return to her customary nap before sundown. But the table wasn't completely clear even then. The high princess waited patiently. Twilight didn't move.

"Did you want to say something?"

"Er, yes, actually, Princess." Twilight pawed anxiously at the table. "I didn't want to worry the ambassadors, but…there's been a _development_ with the Tree of Harmony."

Celestia felt the magic running through her kick itself up a notch. Adrenaline. Nervousness. "A 'development'?"

"Ye-e-es," said Twilight slowly. "A large room seems to have _appeared_ at the back of the cave. Discord notified me of it; we don't know where it came from."

She paused, and was distressed to read in Celestia's expression that this was the first she'd heard of such a thing as well. The princess furrowed her snow-white brow.

"Just a room - a cave?"

"Just an empty cave. There are etchings in the walls, but they're either artistic or just a language I don't know. It's very dark," Twilight admitted. "I didn't see much."

"I see," muttered Celestia.

"Twilight Sparkle, the Elements of Harmony are under your jurisdiction and that of your friends who share them. Could anything have triggered this new discovery? Think back."

Twilight thought. "It…it must have been around the time the ambassadors arrived. When the Map called us."

"Then I can only imagine it will be of use to you in the resolution of these talks. In the meantime, perhaps we should not mention it to Governor Crimson Lance. She…has enough on her mind."

Twilight nodded understandingly, but she still didn't leave.

"Princess Celestia?"

"Yes, Twilight?"

The young princess steeled her own nerve. "I know it's not my place to question your actions-"

"It kind of is, actually."

"-but why did you put such demands on the ponies of Pomphay? Crimson Lance…er, Governor, that is…she has a point. They can't afford to spare anything."

As she'd been waiting for this question from Twilight since she'd said the words to begin with, Celestia just nodded solemnly.

"And well I know it, Twilight. Sometimes, in difficult negotiations like these, all I can do is to trust my instincts. Instinct can be a very powerful, very reliable thing - especially for an alicorn - and somehow I knew that finding what they had to offer would help them far more than me, just swooping in and putting up a shield."

"Did you have something in mind that they could give?"

"No, not really," whispered Celestia.

"All I know is that we're both looking for friendship."

One steel hoof clinked against the stone and caught the gleam of the outside light. Then another. The sun beamed heavily into Crimson's face and she turned her face away from its western setting, to the empty east garden.

Sour Note was standing in the east garden. A pair of flagpoles stood one on either side of her - golden sun-shaped charges on fields purple. She stared determinedly at her governor, and the pain from the ball of flame slowly setting behind the half-silhouetted form brought tears to her eyes that she fought valiantly against. Perhaps those tears were not just of physical pain, too, but of the suffering fear of one's _last hope_?

She dug her green hooves into the soft earth. _We can do this,_ she whispered to herself, swallowing hard. _We are going to do this, this time._

She lowered her horn, tangled with her blue mane, and focused.

A few sparks fell from her horn. Sour Note was too frightened now to even open her eyes. She just had to make that aura happen, that violet magic she might possibly have.

Suddenly, there was a brilliant flash of light. Audible, even. Sour blinked up. Crimson was standing in shock.

Crimson was standing in shock because those two banners were somehow changing before her startled garnet eyes. A subtle-but-there and, she had to admit, rather satisfying color change overtook the field. The purple shifted to a deep, bright red that washed over the cloth like…well, like magic. The sun shape morphed and squashed and fell apart like old threads into a silver sword-shape, embroidered in dark scarlet and charcoal grey.

But standing between these miraculous banners was someone apparently making them change - a strange green unicorn she'd never met before, straining against the laws of nature to perform her magic.

Crimson Lance couldn't explain how this unicorn knew who she was. She couldn't explain why it wanted to represent her in flag form, why it apparently wanted to impress her, Crimson Lance. She couldn't explain why something possessed that little unicorn to stand up between the new banners, throw out her chest, and proclaim, _"Pomphay shall prevail!"_ as the zeal flashed in her lavender eyes and the cape tied round her neck flapped dramatically in the sudden and powerful wind, revealing her blank flank.

Sour Note smiled defiantly into the orange-blue glow of the new twilight. Then she lost her balance, and half-fell sideways into the clinging dark soil. She found herself panting, eyes wide, stunned at herself - breathless, enthralled, excited.

Crimson found she didn't have the heart to tell this new unicorn just how bleak Pomphay's future had recently begun to look.


	8. A Little Help

_In which Sour Note is not entirely truthful._

* * *

"Whoa, Sour! Did _you_ do that?" cried Twilight as her speed through the castle door upped to a canter. Scarlet blazes of banner silk rustled in the breeze.

Sour Note laughed - rather giddily. "Er…ehehe…!"

She flinched at something in the bushes, and added quickly, "Yes."

"That's GREAT!" the princess cheered on, giving Sour a fairly awkward but well-meant hug. "You _mastered_ the color-change spell! Wow, that didn't take long."

"I-I practiced a lot," mumbled Sour shyly.

"But that's _wonderful!_ That's faster than I learned it when _I_ was a filly. Maybe you do have _some_ talent in magic after all!"

Twilight cut off sharply, and gulped, blushing. "Uh, that didn't come out right. But I'm just so happy for you, Sour!"

She grinned at the unicorn, but Sour Note wasn't looking at her after all - she was looking over Twilight's shoulder, into Governor Crimson Lance's flaming red gaze. Twilight fanned her wings protectively.

Then Crimson smiled. Almost. Her mouth kind of flickered at the corners and her eyes looked slightly less steely and cold.

"You there, little one," she said grandly. "Was this for me?"

"Yes, Governor," whimpered Sour Note. Her body had gone weak and her legs were splayed to counteract gravity. Twilight looked surprised as well - and a little wary.

"Well…thank you, then," Crimson Lance replied, examining the fabric with a look of restrained satisfaction.

Sour beamed, glancing back into the bushes. Closing her eyes once more, she snared a dead branch in her lavender tractor beam and held it with a rather strained flourish out in front of her. It hovered there a moment. Crimson Lance began to turn away.

The tip of the branch exploded into a lavish cloud of leaves and long spires of deep purple flowers, hung with shimmering dewdrops, the same as the tallest shrubs in Celestia's garden. Sour Note dropped the branch in what looked like a moment of shock as a wave of red coated the new blossoms.

"The growth spell TOO?" shrieked Twilight. "The two TOGETHER? Sour, I'm so proud of you! You've really thrown your all into this!"

She tackled the unicorn with a teacherly hug, under which Sour Note staggered with another uncomfortable glance toward the bushes.

The sound of metal rapping on stone drew their attention back to the governor, who was more animate now than she'd been all visit - flicking her tail, pacing a bit, and she approached Sour Note with her horn aglow, but she was merely accepting the red bouquet - and she really _did_ smile this time. Twilight had been wondering if she had even known how: apparently, she had.

"This is…quite impressive."

It wasn't a particularly sugary compliment, and she didn't say it in a particularly sugary manner, either - but to Sour Note it seemed to mean the absolute world and more. A pair of tears welled in her grateful eyes, and her voice broke as she cried, "Thank you, Governor!"

Crimson examined the red flowers pleasedly, trotting in a circle around the starstruck unicorn, and the somewhat disgruntled alicorn.

"You will have to show me more of your skills at a later date, little one. And you'll tell me your name then, as well."

"It's _SOUR NOTE,"_ snarled a voice which had evidently been unable to stop itself. Berry Buzz had been looking rather annoyed since the proceedings began, and now took a powerful earth pony step towards them.

Crimson Lance whirled on her with an austere gleam glinting off every plate in her armor. Berry fell quiet under that look. Petrichor, who was already quiet, fell even quieter. "H-Her name is Sour Note," Berry repeated softly.

"I wasn't aware you knew her," said Crimson Lance, very slowly indeed.

"Not…not really," whispered Berry Buzz. She reminded herself that this really wasn't a lie.

It was with a very meaningful look that Crimson Lance swung her ivory head back in Sour's direction. Unsure of what to do, Sour nodded in agreement with what the earth pony had said, all of it.

"AS I said," Crimson resumed and concluded somehow simultaneously, "we shall have to speak more soon." She cast a final look at Canterlot's castle, and strode back to the chariot.

A well-subdued Berry Buzz and Petrichor followed. "C'mon…Sour Note, I think you're invited," Twilight smiled back. The unicorn didn't budge.

"Um…I…dropped something - back here - better, uh, look for it," yelped Sour, and darted back into the bushes.

The din of canned sound-stage applause roared from an undetectable source as she pushed her way through the kinked, spiked, forked branches. In a moment she was nose to nose with a clapping draconequus. "Oh, bra _va,_ Sour Note. _Quite_ the performance! Encore!" purred Discord, tossing a violet rose that exploded in a puff of crimson smoke.

"Oh, please don't, Lord Discord," wailed Sour Note. "I feel just awful. Her Highness is so proud of me, and I _lied_ to her."

Putting on a sympathetic face, Discord wrapped his lion's paw around her shoulders. "Well, you knew you were going to feel that way when you made the deal."

"But I didn't. I've never used someone else's magic before. Because I didn't exist, see?"

Discord paused. "Ah…I see…I see." He nodded slowly, adding, "Well, neither have I, for that matter."

"But no one's offered to do _anything_ to help me before," insisted Sour Note. "Thank you." Very suddenly she rushed at the draconequus and gave him what was probably meant to be a hug, from someone who had never given one before, nestling under his blue bird's wing. Discord patted her head awkwardly.

"Euh…no skin off my nose," he mumbled. "Well, you'll - you'll have it down yourself in no time. It's easy. Now get back out there…you."

Sour Note glanced through the leaves, whimpering softly as she laid her ears back against her skull.

"Go on, go on!" purred Discord. He snapped his talons. "Before they leave without you." Out of thin air popped a very large caramel-covered apple on a stick, that hovered just long enough for Sour to catch. She took a bite as she trotted out into the open.

Twilight breathed a sigh of relief, ignoring Crimson's rapidly tapping hoof and the metal-on-metal sound it made as it connected again and again with the chariot floor. "There you are! We were starting to wonder. I think the _governor_ wants to go home," she added, glaring over her shoulder.

Grinning widely, Sour Note stepped past her with an obedient nod. "Say," said Twilight, "where'd you get that?"

The candied apple paused in the air. "I...bought it!" Sour lied quickly.

She didn't sound very unconvincing, but Twilight stubbornly decided to remain unconvinced. In Canterlot, of all places, candied apples were for sale? Besides, if any pony looked as though she _didn't_ have money, that pony was Sour Note.

Sour Note, who was now tucked back into a corner of the chariot, powerfully aware of Crimson's approving glances and nibbling on her caramel prize. She looked terribly cozy, Twilight admitted to herself, and, although she wasn't certain that wanting to impress some dull, militant unicorn was the best motivation to learn magic, she was immensely proud of Sour's work ethic. It had gotten her much farther than Twilight had predicted.

The princess calmly stepped to the side of the chariot. Poor, quiet Petrichor was _riding_ this time, whether she liked it or not.


	9. The Swimming Hole

_In which a Crusade is mounted._

* * *

Scootaloo was waiting by the swimming hole on the outskirts of town. A pre-storm chill swept through the tall grass as, overhead, a group of pegasi carefully positioned the ragged grey clouds that were scheduled for the day. A premature drop fell into the pool. In the rippling reflection, Applebloom raced to Scootaloo's vantage, Sweetie Belle at her heels.

 _"There_ you guys are; what took ya so long?" called the Pegasus filly. "C'mon, Crusaders! We've got _work_ to do."

Sweetie Belle caught up, panting and sounding confused. "Work? What kind of work?"

"Uh… _duh,_ Sweetie Belle. _Crusading?"_

"Crusadin'?" Applebloom asked quickly. "Y'mean solvin' cutie mark problems? For who?" Her eyes sparkled with excitement.

Scootaloo looked proud - and sneaky. "I've finally got a lead on one of the ambassadors. Rainbow Dash took me for a fly yesterday, and told me all about the pegasus she's rooming with for the meetings."

Applebloom prompted her friend with an enthusiastic _"And?",_ but Sweetie Belle looked skeptical all the same.

 _"That_ pegasus? I dunno, Scoot. I mean, she doesn't seem that interested in _anything."_

"I thought so too," nodded Scootaloo. "But Rainbow Dash can think of _one_ thing.

"Now, Petri would never do something she liked on her own. We'll have to trick her into it. I need you two to help me set up the trick here. The swimming hole is gonna help us. And so," she added, pointing skyward, "is that storm."

An hour or so later, the patchwork of clouds above had been completed: rain poured down in what was gradually becoming one of the roughest storms of the year. Fluttershy struggled to keep in place, hovering over the pond, and whimpering, "Um, girls? Am I doing this right?"

"You're doin' great, Fluttershy!" called Applebloom from within some shrubbery. She was wearing her big sister's raincoat, which seemed to engulf her like duckling-yellow quicksand. "Jes' remember to look upset and flit about some when Rainbow Dash shows up with Petri."

"I-If you say so," shivered Fluttershy.

As for Rainbow's "impromptu" excursion above the clouds, the Wonderbolt casually pulled off a corkscrew loop that sent her soaring up to the far-off sun. She was keeping a sharp mental log of location, hampered somewhat by the fact that the entire earth was blanketed in grey nimbus. Still, flying, and, better yet, impressing people through flying, was something Rainbow Dash could never get enough of, and she looked sufficiently happy to set Petrichor at ease of suspicion. The ambassador flapped along behind her roommate contentedly.

Rainbow Dash pulled up and listened intently to the brewing storm below. She couldn't safely wait much longer.

"Hey, uh, you hear that?" she called to Petri, pretending Fluttershy was loud enough to be heard over the distant thunder.

Petri's gaze locked on her companion. "Er...no."

"Oh. Well, I do. It sounds like - like _Fluttershy_." Rainbow stumbled over a jet breeze. "Down there. Um. Just follow me, will ya?"

She dove straight through the clouds, punching a medium-sized hole, through which Petrichor followed.

Fluttershy's performance was certainly satisfactory at this point. She flitted about frantically, a flustered look on her face. Rainbow pulled up beside her, as per the script.

"You okay out here? Heck-uv-a storm today, right?"

"Oohhh, Rainbow Dash - I just _can't,"_ sniffled Fluttershy. "I can't _believe it._ Oh, oh, I - I was - flying along, by the swimming hole, and - and the wind just _snatched_ up Angel's supper bowl and dropped it in! I'll _never_ be able to get it now," she emphasized, almost breaking character as she did so.

Rainbow turned meaningfully to Petrichor, giving her lines with conviction. "Whoa. That's terrible! Hey, Petri - ya think maybe you could dive in and fetch it?"

 _Ugh. That was weird. Who says "fetch" nowadays?_ she added mentally.

Petrichor, in her Maudesque way, didn't seem too shaken. "Why don't you do it, Rainbow Dash?"

"What, me? _I_ can't swim," lied Rainbow.

Fluttershy nodded in agreement.

Something glinted - quite visibly - in the water, by the single ray of sunshine Rainbow had let in through the clouds. It seemed to strike Petri's interest. Her ears lifted a quarter of an inch and a momentary sparkle graced her eye. Then, once she had composed herself, she said:

"Oh, all right."

And she dove into the water.

Fluttershy shook the water from her wings. "Are you girls sure about this? I mean, you really think just swimming around down there can get Petrichor's cutie mark?"

Sounding nothing but confident, Scootaloo laughed cockily. "Trust us, Fluttershy. When have the Cutie Mark Crusaders _ever_ been wrong?"

Sweetie Belle raised her hoof. Applebloom gently placed it back on the ground, shaking her head.

The swimming hole was actually a bit deeper than anyone had expected. Its bottom was reachable, if generally uninteresting, so for the most part the citizens of Ponyville preferred to stay above the water, where it was easier to be around friends.

Petrichor wasn't quite sure if she had any friends. She had begun to think of Rainbow Dash as one, but perhaps that was irrational. She'd be leaving Ponyville soon, anyway, so perhaps it would be best not to get attached to whatever friendships she happened to make. Crimson Lance would have applauded such thinking, of course, but Petrichor, when she thought about it, found herself reluctant.

She thought about it for the few seconds she'd kept her eyes closed under the water; then, she seemed to remember the fact that she was _searching_ for something. The fresh, clean water barely stung as she looked through its crystalline clarity - she was upside down, the silver clouds invisible beneath the surface, the golden ray of sunlight from Rainbow's entry point beaming through the water, shimmering, sparkling.

Petrichor gasped. This was a bit of a problem, as she was underwater. Bubbles of air streamed upwards to the surface and Petri raced beside them, flapping her wings with all her strength, until the power she was using to reach the air catapulted her out of the water with a prismic splash.

Her eyes were wider than ever before and she took in her surroundings in an instant, the pegasi cheering her on at the edge of the pond, the heaviness of the storm and lush green of the wet grass, and then she found herself underwater again. She had luckily remembered to take a breath.

Now she swam downward. Had she ever reached the bottom of a pond before? Water in Pomphay was precious and strictly for cooling off, a rapid skim after a sixteen-hour shift fighting the baking sun and the cruel black storm clouds. The deeper she got, the farther away it all seemed. She found that her years of fighting Everfree backwash had strengthened her wings so that one stroke sent her gliding effortlessly through the depths. The storms fell away into more water - the rocks below shimmered with an otherworldly light, like gold film, like a thousand pounds of glitter.

She slowed to a halt, suspended in place. One of her braids had come loose, and the hair, kinked from so many years spent in tightly woven ropes, floated dreamily in the water. That gleam - was that the missing bowl? Petrichor willed herself forward. Her hooves sensed the tiny movements of fish, swimming contentedly apart from the harsh world above.

The gleam grew closer and closer, until finally it was clear. It came not from Petrichor's prize but from a monstrous gemstone, blue, and dangerously brilliant.

("I'm sure I'm afraid to ask," said Rarity, trotting to the edge of the swimming hole and brandishing an umbrella against the rain, "but did you girls dump all those nice gems I gave you into the pond?"

 _"Yes,"_ Scootaloo said. "Thanks, by the way. Now just be quiet and wait. This'll work - I just _know_ it.")

For one brief, thrilling moment, Petrichor stared at the treasure she'd found. It lay there sparkling on the sandy, jagged rock; it was the biggest, most perfect sapphire the pegasus had ever seen. For a pony who didn't talk much, she had a very quick mind, and it was the work of a moment to tuck the gem into her mane and dash onward.

Another gleam up ahead - another gem - gleam after gleam she found, her excitement building, until her braids were loaded with jewels and still she had farther to go. Her wings propelled her downward until her hoof touched the very bottom, sending up a small cloud of sand disturbed by the movement it hadn't seen in years. There, some little distance away, faintly but surely illuminated by the single ray of sunlight, lay a yellow bowl banded in geometric patterns.

Petrichor reached out for her prize. The prize no one else could reach! Oh, but that was something new - something only Petrichor could do, had done, all alone!

For such a long time, Petrichor was A Pegasus, and very little, if anything, more. Not that there was anyone to blame for the complete absence of recognition, nothing but Mount Ruin's eruption and Everfree's relentless, neverending push to conquer Pomphay. That was what pegasi _did,_ fight the weather. Had they always? Petrichor was as old as Crimson Lance - she had been young but alive before the lava and ash - she remembered now! - remembered the carefree thoughts of a tiny blue pegasus filly, not bound by her wings to the sky, but with a million paths before her to discover one by one; and the low fences about the village, and the trees lush with fruit, and the clear blue sky - and the water!

Different!

Hers!

Victorious as the thief who escaped the dragon's hoard weighed down with treasures, she streaked through the water serpent-fast, the bowl clutched against her chest so it couldn't be lost again. By now the rain, grown manic in the few minutes that Petri's powerful lungs could keep her under the water, beat down on the surface of the pond with a terrible malice, while the Cloudsdale planners who had designed it flapped their wings lazily above it all, blissfully unaware that they were storming atop one of their own.

The water splashed up onto the sand. Petrichor rose like a naiad, and glittering with gems like a star, smiling a smile bigger than anyone thought possible. The Crusaders peeked out from under their bush.

"I've DONE it!" cried Petrichor, lofting the bowl into the air for all to see, and to be filled with angry rainwater.

But no one was looking at her sunken treasure. They were looking at her other prize, the one now shining proudly from her no-longer blank blue flank.


	10. Cheval Disobedience

_In which Crimson Lance is particularly frustrating._

* * *

The cheering was electrifying. A lightning bolt may as well have hit the swimming hole, for the way it affected Petrichor. She positively sparkled with pride and excitement - as if it were a completely different pony who burst from the water, landed like a feather on the bank.

She stared wide-eyed at the pegasi, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy clapping their hooves to the dirt, while that white unicorn with the velvet raincoat and bejeweled umbrella cheered from underneath a tree some distance away. Dwindling raindrops tap-tapped into the bowl as she proudly presented it to Fluttershy.

A small, white bunny with an annoyed look on his face emerged quite suddenly from Fluttershy's mane, and snatched the bowl away, hopping off in the direction of his owner's cottage.

"AWESOME, Petrichor! _Congratulations!"_ shrieked three voices in unison - the voices of three young fillies who leapt excitedly from the shrubbery. Petrichor stepped backward in surprise.

"Oh, i-it was nothing," she said once she had composed herself, fanning her drenched wingspan.

The Cutie Mark Crusaders galloped around in a celebratory circle. "We did it! I knew we could!" sang out Applebloom.

"I _told_ you guys!" Scootaloo yelled.

There was a clicking of keratin as the fillies clapped their hooves together in a symbol of triumph.

All eyes returned gradually to Petrichor, who shook her head and body like a wolf, sending sprays of water and gemstones flying every which way. She blinked back at them. "Um…what are you all staring at?"

"Your _cutie mark_ , of course," Rainbow Dash laughed, walking toward her friend and putting one wing across her shoulders.

Petrichor didn't really know where to look for a "cutie mark", whatever it was. Awkwardly, and with a burning awareness of her own ignorance, she inspected her forelegs and then her wings. Dark blue locks of newly-freed mane fell into her eyes. A couple steps back and an uncomfortable twist suddenly revealed to her a spot of color on her flank, completely unexpected. Petrichor gave a little shriek and flapped into the air.

"Oh, why, it's _beautiful, darling,"_ Rarity positively purred, kicking back the fabric of her raincoat. The diamonds on her own flank were at least a little reassuring that the whole matter wasn't entirely strange. Not, at least, to Ponyville.

The mark _was_ rather pretty, Petrichor thought. Actually, all told, she was rather pleased. Her flank was emblazoned with a largish ocean wave frothing with white foam, with a handful of gold coins scattered above and below.

"What is it? What does it mean?" whispered the pegasus.

"Means you just found your calling, Petri," said Rainbow Dash. "You don't belong in the air after all - you belong in the water! Which is awesome," she added encouragingly. "Sunken treasure! Swimming!"

"Swimming," repeated Petri, who seemed to be getting more excited by the second.

"Why, with practice, you could be a champion swimmer!" Applebloom was still running in circles.

The clouds bore growing cracks through which the sunlight eagerly streamed, lighting up patches of earth along with wide fresh puddles. The rain had fallen back into a gentle, pale drizzle. A delicious smell hung heavy in the air - the smell of the first rainstorm of the summer.

The town square was empty of all but those ponies whose job it was to clean up after the storm - flower-shop owners picking up tilted-over window boxes, and the like. The pegasi hovered carefully over the waterlogged streets, pastel hooves just missing their slick surfaces. It was well past midday now, and the sun had been moved accordingly.

Something happy and very, very pink was bouncing its way across the square, sending up sheets of rainwater in its excitement - excessively cheerful, as expected, although Petrichor found herself feeling especially cheerful as well. Behind Pinkie, Berry Buzz was trying to keep time and keep up, her worked and weathered body objecting to each bounce her joyful spirit was able to draw from it.

"Congrats, congrats, CONGRATS!" shrieked Pinkie, a wide swath of road still separating her from her triumphant friends. Petrichor, who could sprint faster on hoof than by wing, touched down on the flooded path and galloped across, two braids and a side of loose, wavy hair flying behind her.

"You knew already?" cried Petri, circling the two earth ponies.

Pinkie grinned and flicked her tail inscrutably. "I've-I mean, _we've_ got to start planning your cute-ceañera right away! I mean, I've been planning all of your cute-ceañeras since you showed up, but of course we didn't know what you'd get!"

"What is she talking about?" Petrichor wondered, to no one in particular.

"Oh," piped up Berry Buzz, "a cute-ceañera is a _great big party_ that ponies around here throw when somepony gets her cutie mark! Pinkie Pie told me all about it. It's just great! Oh, I'm just _so_ happy for you, Petri-Petrichor." She stumbled over the nickname she'd already accepted in her mind. Petrichor smiled, knowingly, and then, suddenly exploding with joy, leapt at her old-neighbor-new-friend to tackle her with a massive hug.

"I - I - I GOT A-" it took a split second to remember its name- "A _CUTIE MARK!"_

"Uh - yeah!" squealed Berry. After a moment of awkward fear, she happily accepted the hug from her idol.

"It's so _pretty!_ And all _mine!"_

"It's _awesome,_ P-Petri!" Berry agreed, watching in some amusement as the Pegasus twisted one way and then another to view her new mark from every available angle.

"Oh - and, Petri," she said again, finding no repercussions for using that name, "this is double wonderful, isn't it? With that mark, why, you're going to be a General once we get back home!"

Petrichor's movements slowed rapidly to a frightened motionlessness. "A…General?"

Even prouder than before, Berry trotted happily around the pegasus. "Only the very _best_ workers get those marks! Oh, you'll be put in charge of a weather squadron right away - right under Sun Chaser himself! What's your specialty, huh? Something to do with that storm?"

She paused. Petrichor didn't look happy anymore. She looked… _guilty_. The same look Berry Buzz remembered seeing a glimpse of, on the face of that…poor young unicorn…before remembering that she didn't exist.

"What's wrong?"

"Er…look closer, Berry," whimpered Petri. "It's not for weather."

Now that she'd finally stopped moving, the wave, blending into her fur, was apparent, along with the coins shining around it. "It's for swimming, Berry. Swimming - buried treasure - all - that."

She waited for the look of dismay, but Berry only registered confusion. She backed away slightly. "But…we don't have a swimming division…what is it good for?…who would even join? Everyone is already taken!…"

Of course she wouldn't understand. Berry didn't know Crimson Lance the way she, Petrichor, did.

But, never having been a great liar herself, she admitted the facts dutifully. "It's not…good for anything. Not in Pomphay, anyway. And it's not supposed to make me a General…it's just… _me."_

 _"WELL THEN,_ you won't be needing to worry about it, will you?" said a voice behind them, far more powerful than seemed appropriate, and with a hint of displeasure in its _timbre._

Petrichor turned, humbly quivering beneath Crimson Lance's gaze. Her friends looked on in concern.

"May I speak to you, Petrichor?" the governor requested with sinister politeness. "Alone… _over there."_

In retrospect, it didn't sound like so much of a _request_ after all.

"Now then, Petrichor," said Crimson Lance, using what the pegasus listlessly recognized as her gentlest, most soothing tone of voice: "Now then, Petrichor, please explain to me the meaning of this…mark."

Petrichor looked blankly behind her, having re-affected her taciturn unemotionality as quickly and evenly as turning off a light. It had taken only a few minutes at a brisk trot to escape Ponyville limits, but the governor had refused to speak until they were well off in the distance; standing, as a matter of fact, in the very mouth of the Everfree Forest. Dully, Petrichor wondered which of so many reasons might have caused Crimson Lance to choose that spot. Perhaps they were in shadow here, which would allow their clearly rather planned-out conversation to occur in privacy. Possibly it was that they stood on the path that led back to Pomphay, as if Petrichor were being threatened with being sent home from the party early.

Maybe it was just the Everfree Forest itself, which scared everyone in Pomphay, not excluding Petri. It didn't occur to her that Crimson Lance might be afraid of the Forest too.

"Well, Cloud-Beater?" prompted Crimson. That was a position title which she sometimes used as a term of endearment, usually while preparing to take somepony down a few pegs. "Explain, please."

The pegasus opened her mouth, but it was a long time before she said anything. Finally, her voice came, soft and unsure, with no guarantee of safety: "I…I got my cutie mark."

Crimson Lance said nothing in reply. Petrichor added, "Like you."

The governor whirled on her, plates of armor gleaming, glinting in the red light of her glowing horn - then the moment passed, and she was calm; but clearly finished with her understanding persona.

 _"Me? I_ have had my cutie mark for years. I earned it for fending off the dragon invasion that first brought down our castle. My father was nearly crushed! I saved his sorry life. My cutie mark," (she paused briefly to choke back some unwanted emotion,) "is a mark of excellence in battle, of pony lives saved and dragons extinguished. And you _dare_ to trot about with a useless talent like _swimming_ emblazoned on that lazy, blue flank!"

She took a single iron step, and Petrichor shrank like an Everfree flower.

"If you think for one instant that Pomphay will let you just _drop_ your weather duties, and go off cavorting in the water to your heart's content-"

"N-No, no, Governor…"

"There is barely _water_ in Pomphay - never mind _sunken treasure!"_ Crimson Lance continued over the citizen. "Do you _want_ to return to all your friends with a mark like that? Why…they'll _laugh_ at you, Petrichor."

The pegasus looked up. Evidently, she had not yet followed this line of thinking. _Would_ they laugh? She couldn't know. She didn't know anyone very well, despite many moons spent working side by side. Laugh at a talent as useless as cake-baking, clothes-making, party planning? Or laugh at a pony who thought she'd be special just because of a mark on her flank?

"Yes, Governor, Ma'am," whispered Petrichor. "You are correct."

"I know I am," Crimson Lance replied, her tone now halfway between indifference and false-sounding comfort.

"What are we...what are _you_ going to do, Governor?"

The governor lifted her head and looked out over Ponyville with her cold crimson eyes. Twilight's castle stood there glittering in the distance.

"We're going to fix it," she said simply.

And after that, what else was there to say?


End file.
